/

Jcbotional fitammmftmj nu the ©ospcl Jfornttibc

VOLUME VII

OUR LORD'S PASSION

Works by the Rev. ISAAC WILLIAMS, B.D.

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Dcbotional (JTcimmcntitnj on the (Soepcl ^

OUR LORD'S PASSION

BY THE

REV. ISAAC WILLIAMS, B.D.

LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD

NEW IMPRESSION

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

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NEW YORK, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA

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' ' / have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear ; but now mine
eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor my self ^ and repent in dust and
ashes" — JOB xlii. 5, 6.

" Grant) 0 Lord, that in reading Thy Holy Word, I may never
prefer my private sentiments before those of the Church, in the purely
ancient times of Christianity.'''— BISHOP WILSON'S PRAYERS.

CONTENTS

PART 1
Ci)i ffcour of

SECTION I— THE AGONY

PAQK

Gethsemane .................................................................. 1

The Three Disciples apart with Christ ............................. 7

Christ withdraws from the Three Disciples ........................ 10

The Cup of Agony ......................................................... 13

The Bloody Sweat and the Angel .................................... 21

Our Lord returning to His Three Disciples ........................ 25

Returning the Second Time .......................................... 28

Our Lord's last Keturn ................................................... 30

SECTION II— THE APPREHENSION

The Approach of Judas ................................................... 89

The Kiss of Judas ....................................................... 44

The Multitude struck to the Ground ................................. 61

Our Lord intercedes for His Disciples ............... ............... 65

St. Peter using the Sword ................................................ 58

St. Peter and St. John ... 66

V\ CONTENTS

PAGE

Our Lord expostulates 74

The Disciples flee 79

Eeflections on our Lord's Example 82

SECTION III— THE CONDEMNATION

The Honse of Annas v 88

Christ in Bonds 93

The Palace of Caiaphas 96

The Denials of St. Peter 101

The Lord looking on St. Peter 114

The Cock-crowing 119

Our Lord before Caiaphas 124

The False Witnesses 132

The Adjuration of the Chief Priest 139

The High Priest rending his Garments 148

The Condemnation 151

Christ abused 154

The Meeting of the Sanhedrim 160

PART II
Ci)t San of J?orrotos

SECTION I— THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

Christ led to Pilate .... 165

Judas restoring the Money 168

The Potter's Field 177

The Jews fearing Defilement 181

The Charge of Sedition 184

CONTENTS VI 1

PAGE

The Charge of being a King 188

Christ sent to Herod 201

Christ rejected by the People 209

The Scourging 217

"Behold the Man" 237

The Fears of Pilate 241

The Appeal to Csesar threatened 250

Computation of Time 255

No King but Caesar 258

Pilate washing his Hands 260

The Way of Sorrows 269

The Women lamenting ... 275

SECTION II— THE CRUCIFIXION

Golgotha 280

The Wine and Myrrh 284

They crucify Him 285

Christ praying for His Murderers 288

The Title on the Cross 292

The Garments 298

The Spectators 307

The Penitent Thief. 314

The Kevealing of Men's Hearts 323

Our Lord's Mother 327

The Darkness 341

The Loud Voice 347

The Vinegar 352

The Consummation 357

The Seven Speeches of Christ on the Cross 361

The Rending of the Veil 366

The Followers of Christ 372

The Blood and Water ..374

Vlll CONTENTS

SECTION III— THE SEPULTURE

PAGE

The Bich in His Death 382

The Burial 388

The Holy Sepulchre 393

The Great Sabbath 396

The Women from Galilee 399

Mary Magdalene 404

Christ in the Grave ... 415

The Sinner buried with Christ 426

The Dead in Christ 432

HFMN ON FUNERAL RITES OF THE DEAD 442

I.SDEX or TEXTS ... . 449

INTRODUCTION

AUK Blessed Lord took apart His three favoured disci
*J plea, that they alone might witness His agony by a
closer and more intimate approach; it might, therefore,
seem a hazardous presumption for us to venture near, and
gaze upon His most sacred sorrows. But if we might he
allowed to do so, He seems to teach us that it must he to
watch and pray with Him the while. If these indeed
were the only ones privileged to hehold Him in His
humiliations, we might indeed draw hack with fear. But
even the heathen Pilate was moved to awe at the sight of
Him in His crown of thorns. Even the Eoman centurion,
from standing at the foot of His Cross, was led to con-
fession ; and the thief on the Cross, from beholding Him
more nearly in His afflictions, had his soul healed. But
it may be said, these approached His adorable person in
ignorance of His Divine Majesty, and in unbelief ; and
from beholding Him, learned something of godly fear ; or
by their own sufferings were made partakers of His Cross ;
and, so far as they knew of His inconceivable greatness,
they reverenced and adored. Be it so : we therefore may

INTRODUCTION

draw near to Him, if it be but in fear ; and every school
of severe visitation affords the privilege to behold Him,
and to be with Him. Not the beloved disciple only, and
His blessed Mother, were allowed to approach to the foot
of the Cross, and to receive His last gracious commands.
The penitent Mary Magdalene and the other faithful Mary
found a place there for a while : and others also, those
Galilean women, had it granted them to be spectators of
that sad scene ; when they stood, beholding from afar off,
and beating their breasts, returned. And a little before
the Crucifixion itself, those poor women of Jerusalem that
followed Him, bewailing and lamenting Him, along the
way of sorrow and shame, were admitted to receive His
sacred words and admonitions, although before the Chief
Priests, Pilate, and the wicked Herod, He had observed
that judicial and awful silence. And His words intimated
that those who would weep with Him, may indeed do so ;
but it is for themselves they are to weep. Let us. there-
fore, accompany Him, and if we be allowed to weep over
guilty Jerusalem, together with Him, yet let it be for
ourselves that we mourn.

Let it be with becoming thoughts of self-abasement and
humiliation that we draw near to the city of His sorrows.
When He came nigh unto Jerusalem He wept over it, at
the thoughts of those calamities it was to endure. Far
greater cause have we to weep on approaching the same,
when we look back on the sufferings He there endured.
Let us lay aside the luxuries of life, and all that ministers
to human pride, while we approach it ; and partake in the
feelings of those holy pilgrims whom the Poet describes ;—

INTRODUCTION Tl

" To that delight which their first sight did breed,

That pleased so the secret of their thought,
A deep repentance did forthwith succeed,

That reverend fear and trembling with it brought :
Scantly they durst their feeble eyes dispreed

Upon that town, where Christ was sold and bought ;
Where for our sins He faultless sufler'd pain,
There where He died, and where He lived again.

" Their naked feet trod on the dusty way,

Following th' en sample of their zealous guide ;
Their scarfs, their crests, their plumes, and feathers gay,

They quickly doft, and willing laid aside ;
Their moulten hearts their wonted pride allay ;

Along their watery cheeks warm tears down slide :
And then such secret speech as this they used,
While to himself each one himself accused.

" Flower of Goodness, Root of lasting Bliss,

Thou Well of Life, whose streams were purple blood
That flow'd here, to cleanse the soul amiss
Of sinful man, behold this brinish flood,
That from my melting heart distill'd is,

Receive in gree these tears, 0 Lord so good j
For never wretch with sin so overgone,
Had fitter time, or greater cause to moan."

T^sso, Jer. Deliv. Fairfax's Trans, b. iii. stanz. 5. 7, 8.

PART I

Cfje J^our oC 2Batfetu00

SECTION I— THE AGONY
" He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied."

GETHSEMANE

OUR Lord had now gone forth from the city, wherein,
according to the law, He had eaten the Paschal supper,
and passed " over the broolc Ceclron " (John) ; that stream
over which King David had "before passed together with
his companions in sorrow *. Proceeding over this moun-
tain brook, and up the foot of the hill, He arrived at the
spot where it appears to have "been usual with Him to
retire to prayer. " Then cometh Jesus together with them"
says St. Matthew: or, " they come" says St. Mark, "to a
place which & called Gethsemane " (Matt., Mark) ; " where
1h < -re. was a garden" says St. John, "into which He
entered, and His disciples" We know that, on other
occasions, it was our Lord's custom to spend the night in
prayer, apparently in open and exposed places. But it
1 2 Sam. xv. 23.

B

THE AGONY

does not appear very evident why at this time He should
have passed the night together with His disciples in the
open air, for we know that the night " was cold." It may
have "been usual with them on account of their great
poverty, for we know that the Son of Man had not where
to lay His head ; and perhaps the house at Bethany was
not sufficient to afford them its friendly shelter, for the
concourse at Jerusalem was of course now very great.

" This place, Gethsemane, in which He prayed, is shown
even to this day," says Bede, " at the foot of the Mount
of Olives." The word Gethsemane is by interpretation
the " olive-press :" and who does not perceive the name
itself to be replete with something of a divine signifi-
cancy ? For the Olive is the emblem of Christ Himself,
and of His Church, and of the Christian; and the Oil in
Holy Scripture ever denotes the Spirit of God, and His
sanctifying gifts. And how strongly does the olive-press,
from which this holy oil of Divine charity is obtained,
set forth in expressive figure the Passion of our blessed
Lord!

St. Jerome, however, interprets the word Gethsemane
as implying a luxuriant garden, "the valley of fatness;"
as if from the very richness of the garden it was calcu-
lated to bring forth more abundantly those thorns of which
Adam sowed the seed. " It was in this, the valley of
fatness," says he, " that the fat bulls of Basan closed Him
in on every side." It is in the rank and rich ground of
human prosperity that evil spirits have, as it were, most
power against Christ in all ages of the world.

It is remarkable that both the Passion and the Grave
of Christ were in a garden. As St. John expressly states
of our Lord's agony, it was "a garden into which He
entered," and it has been ever since known as " the garden

GETHSEMANE 3

of Gethsemane ;" so does St. John also expressly mention
of our Lord's burial, that " there was a garden, and in the
garden a new tomb, in which no one had been yet laid."
As in all other matters respecting our blessed Lord, so in
this also there appears to have been some peculiar adapta-
tion and providential fitness. In a garden the powers of
evil overcame the first man ; and in a garden they were
overcome by the second : and as it was in a garden that
Adam sinned, so was it ordained that in a garden should
be both the agony and also the tomb of Christ. In a
garden the first Adam ate of the pleasant fruit : and in
a garden the Second Adam resigned Himself to drink the
bitter cup. In a garden the old serpent beguiled Eve :
and in a garden the powers of darkness were let loose
against Him who was born of woman, and in Him against
His Church, who is "the mother of all living, "but found
nothing in Him. The garden in which Adam was placed
brought forth to him all abundance without the sweat of
his brow : but this garden into which the Son of Man
was cast, was not only watered by the sweat of His brow,
which was the curse of Adam, but with His sweat of
blood. And therefore as in the former case Eden became
a wilderness of thorns ; so this became the rich garden,
the valley of fatness, being rich in the graces and charities
of Christ. Again, it was in a garden that the sentence of
death was passed on all mankind because of sin : and in
a garden the Second Man voluntarily submitted to endure
the full weight of that penalty. The voice was heard of
the Lord God " walking in the garden in the cool of the
day," when the excuses of the first Adam took place : and
in the cool of the day in a garden the Second Adam laid
Himself down in stillness and silence to take the doom
pronounced on the first Adam. It was as he left tLa
a 2

THE AGONY

garden that the first Adam had the sentence pronounced
against him, that the earth should bring forth thorns : and
it was when in death He entered the garden to be laid in
the tomb, that the Second Adam was divested of the
crown of thorns that He had worn.

Nor does the subject stop here : for as it was in a
garden that Christ yielded up Himself to drink of the
cup of sorrow and to lie in the grave ; so also in a garden
did He overcome death and the grave by His Resurrec-
tion. And indeed in a garden itself there is something
emblematic and suitable, where nature dies, and is again
renewed ; where the seed perishes, and is quickened and
brings forth an hundred-fold. And this may be the
reason why through the book of Canticles, in the mystical
accounts of our Lord's burial and resurrection, the figures
are so much taken from a garden. " Thou that dwellest
in the gardens, the companions hearken to Thy voice :
cause me to hear it2." Thus also is it with ourselves, that
the place where we die to the world is the place where we
rise again to God; in whatsoever man humbles himself,
in the same is he exalted. In like manner St. Jerome
says of our Lord's apprehension in the Mount of Olives,
" from whence also He ascended into the Heavens, that
we may know that from that place, where we watch, and
pray, and are bound, and resist not, we also ascend unto
Heaven."

It seems therefore, that as in Christ mankind, who are
exiled from Paradise, again return to Paradise : so also in
dim figure mankind, who were exiled from the garden,
again in Christ return thither. Christ restores to us that
which we had lost, but sanctified by His gift and blessed
by His own adoption of the same. We have lost oui
* Song of Solomon, viii. 18.

GETHSEMANE

Paradise, our first and happy estate ; wo have lost the
childhood of our years; hut in Christ we must return to
that Paradise we have lost, we must return once more to
lost childhood, and hecorne again as little children in
Him. But this Paradise to which we return in Christ is
not an Eden of delights, as it was to the first Adam ; hut
a garden of suffering and expiation, where we must watch
and pray with the Second Adam. But it is a pledge of
a hetter Paradise hereafter. And so likewise the second
childhood, unto which we are restored in Christ, is a state
of mortification and suffering ; hut a pledge of a new "birth
hereafter, when they that are found worthy shall he made
sons of God, and the children of the Eesurrection, heing
equal to the angels. It is to His own childhood that
Christ brings us hack : and His childhood is marked hy
circumcision. But the day of His Circumcision is the
day of His Eesurrection also, — the eighth day. The
eighth day with regard to what is past ; the first day with
regard to what is to come ; the day of our new year in
Christ; the first day of the new creation; the coming
in of the new Heavens and the new Earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness. It is the Circumcision and the
Eesurrection, hoth of them the first day and the last day
of the week; for Christ Himself is the First and the
Last, the Beginning and the Ending, the Alpha and
Omega. It is the new creation and the new childhood,
hut marked with the Circumcision ; which implies morti-
fication in the flesh, hut in the spirit a new creature.
And such is this garden into which we are admitted with
Christ ; it is truly our Paradise, for there is no other place
on earth, of which it may he so truly said for us His
fallen creatures, that "it is good for us to he here."
Adam was alone in Paradise, hut he said it is not good to

THE AGONY

be alone, and the mother of all living was admitted to be
with him. And even in this dark garden of sadness,
Christ, in unspeakable condescension, seems to say, it is
not good for Him to be alone, but takes the Church to be
the partner of His sorrows, saying, Come ye apart, and
watch with Me.

" Master, it is good for us to be here :" and may we
without irreverence apply the whole of St. Peter's me-
morable words, " it is good for us to be here, and let us
make here three tents, one for Thee, one for Moses, and
one for Elias." For it is not the Christian Church only,
but the Law and the Prophets also, who must be here
present with Christ. For they are witnesses of the crimes
of mankind, and must be of their penalty ; for of both
do they speak. Moses and Elias are both witnesses of
the garden of human wickedness. Moses, who hath re-
corded the garden of Eden, and the sin of Adam. Elias,
who met Ahab taking possession of the garden of blood,
the vineyard of JSTaboth. Both are witnesses also of hope
and pardon held out, for Christ's sake, to the penitent.
Moses, who testifies of the promise made to Adam j and
Elias, who bore to Ahab the respite of his sentence. All
mankind, whether living before or after, are taken to be
with Christ the witnesses of His Passion. Nay, He takes
us not only with Him to Gethsemane, but He also takes
us back with Him to the Paradise of Adam, to the vine-
yard of Ahab : He takes us back to the places and seasons
of our own crimes, that He may show us how He has to
wash that ground, which is stained with the blood of
souls.

THE THREE DISCIPLES APART WITH CHRIS7

THE THREE DISCIPLES APART WITH CHRIST

"And when He was at the place, He said unto them,
Pray ye, that ye may not enter into temptation " (Luke).
As lie had been all the evening preparing them for this
their clanger, so now for the last time does He exhort
them to put on that spiritual armour which can alone
defend them against the powers of darkness. For now
they had nothing else to do but to pray. " And He saith
unto His disciples, Sit ye here while I go and pray " (Matt.,
Mark) " yonder " (Matt.) ; leaving them probably at the
entrance of the garden ; as if it had been His custom so
to retire from them with that purpose, praying without
ostentation, and without over-studied concealment. " And
He took with Him Peter" (Matt., Mark) " and the two sons
of Zebedee" (Matt.), "James and John together with
Him " (Mark), " and he began to be exceedingly amazed "
(Mark), " and sorrowful " (Matt.), " and very heavy " (Matt.,
Mark). "And then He saith unto them, My soul is
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; stay ye here, and
watch" (Matt., Mark) "with Me" (Matt.)

We may ask what the watching with Him means ; was
it against His treacherous friend, and for His approach 1
Or was it for those enemies of darkness, of which He
spake in saying, " The prince of this world cometh, and
hath nothing in Me " 1 Whatever it might have signified
to them, to us doubtless it means that we must watch by
good works, in order that we may pray ; and must pray in
order that we may watch with Him. It is to be observed,
that although our Lord intercedes for them, yet it is
necessary that they too should pray together with Him.
Thus also now He intercedes in Heaven, but is likewise,

8 THE AGONY

by His Providence, ever arousing us to pray with Him.
But there may be also in this action of our Lord's some-
thing of human tenderness and affection, which in times
of extreme distress looks to the presence of friends for
alleviation, and which thus gives and receives the strongest
tokens of human friendship. " He would not go far from
them," says Origen, " as wishing to be with them ;" lean-
ing upon them, as it were, for support and sympathy, and
having selected them from the others, as able to watch
with Him ; and thus does He draw us all near to Him in
His agony, by partaking of our human affections and
afflictions, drawing us unto Him with " the cords of a
man." Those that were less strong He left apart, saving
them from the severe trial of witnessing His agony ; but
to be allowed to draw near unto Christ is to partake of
affliction ; and blessed are they who by so doing are led
to watch and pray with Him, and from the example of
the Son of Man are led to pray. These three disciples
were indeed united to their blessed Lord by a more inti-
mate union and sympathy; and by this distinction He
hallows our human affections, which draw to us some in
closer union than others. But doubtless in our adorable
Example such partial affection and choice was founded on
that Divine love, which loves most of all those who are
most conformable unto the will of God ; and which, even
in making a distinction, does so for the good both of those
that are brought more near, and those who are left at the
entrance of the garden. For even in Heaven stars differ
from one another in brightness, according to a difference
of light within them, or in their degrees of nearness to
that Sun, from whence they derive their lustre. More-
over, it was perhaps fitting that those three who had
witnessed our Lord's manifestation of Himself in glory on

THE THREE DISCIPLES APART WITH CHRIST

the Mount of Transfiguration, and in power on the raising
of Jairus's daughter from the dead, should witness also
the agonies of His Passion. And greatly as this added to
the trial of the disciples, whose whole strength depended
on a sense of our Lord's Divinity ; yet to St. Peter him-
self, who had "been elated with self-confidence, such a
lesson was at this moment most seasonable, — the lesson
which was set before him in Christ's extreme humiliation
and affliction.

Of the disciples thus in their several places abiding
with Christ, Origen beautifully says, " Wherefore let us
abide where Jesus hath commanded, and according to
what the Apostle also enjoins, let every one in the voca-
tion wherein he hath been called, therein abide with
God 8 ! let us do all things, that we may watch with Him,
the Keeper of Israel, who neither slumbers nor sleeps.
For this purpose also He took them with Him, and
especially Peter, who had great confidence in himself, that
they might see and hear where the power of man is, and
how it is obtained. That they might see Him falling on
His face, and hear Him saying, If it be possible, let this
cup pass from Me. And might learn not to think highly,
but lowly to esteem themselves ; not to be swift to promise,
but anxious to prayM" The same writer says, " These He
wishes to watch and pray, that they enter not into tempta-
tion, because he who is more spiritual ought to be the more
anxious, lest the great good that he doth should suffer the
more grievous downfall."

It was from this circumstance of our Lord's withdrawing

from some of His disciples, that the custom obtained in

the early Churches of making distinctions of place in their

assemblies of prayer. Not that they would say as the

1 1 Cor. vii. 20. « Tn Matt. Lat. Com. 91.

10 THE AGONY

Pharisee to the Publican, " Stand apart, for I am holier
than thou ;" but a little leaven leaveneth the whole, and
open sin must break all that sympathy and union which
is the pledge of Christ's presence in worship. Add to
which, such retirement from the world is the dictate of
natural modesty and piety. At such times by withdraw-
ing from man we may draw more near unto God. But
our blessed Lord's example furnishes us with the rule and
the qualifications of it. And thus as in that celestial
Paradise where Christ will take mankind to dwell with
Him hereafter, there are " many mansions ;" so also in this
garden of His suffering below there are many mansions or
places of abode for His disciples, in which, in various
degrees of nearness, they may be allowed to watch with
Him.

CHRIST WITHDRAWS FROM THE THREE DISCIPLES

"And having gone a little further" (Matt., Mark), or,
as St. Luke says, speaking apparently of this occasion,
" and He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast"
But the word withdrawn is much stronger in the Greek
(aTrea-Trda-Orf), and also in the Latin version (avulsus est),
and perhaps implies some involuntary impulse of extreme
grief; as on our Lord's former temptation after His
Baptism, St. Mark says, " the Spirit driveth Him into the
wilderness." And here " He fell " (Matt., Mark) " on His
face " (Matt.), " upon the earth, and prayed that if it were
possible, the hour might pass from Him" (Mark). "And
He said, Abba, Father " (Mark), " My Father, if it be
possible" (Matt.), " all things are possible unto Thee"
(Mark), " taJce away this cup " (Mark), " let this cup pass "

CHRIST WITHDRAWS FROM THE THREE DISCIPLES 11

(Matt.) "from Me" (Matt., Mark). " But not as I will,
but as Thou " (Matt., Mark).

Such is the account which the two first Evangelists give
of this passage. But it is not very evident of which of
the three occasions, when our Lord prayed, St. Luke
speaks, as he does not mention them separately. It might
indeed be supposed that it was not the first time when
" He fell on His face ;" for St. Luke says, " and having
knelt down," He prayed. Of course it might have been
the case that He first " knelt down," and afterwards at the
same time " fell on His face ;" and the words of our Lord's
prayer are very much the same as those recorded on the
first occasion. But still, as our Lord prayed three times,
using the same words, it might have been at the other
times of which St. Luke speaks. His words are, "And
having knelt down, He prayed, Father, if Thou wilt, take
this cup from Me. Let not My will, but Thine be done"
And he proceeds to mention the appearance of the angel,
which one would suppose to have occurred later.

The variations in the accounts are but slight ; but even
a slight discrepancy in inspired words may contain great
and Divine significancy. Thus St. Matthew records the
words "My Father," where the term "My" appears to
have a very strong and peculiar import, being the highest
and most prevailing name which our Lord could use to
the Father, as the " Firstborn " and " Only-begotten," and
appealing, therefore, to the Father, in a manner that no
other could do, as His own Father. And so also the
expression which St. Mark alone introduces, combining
the Hebrew " Abba " with the Greek term of " Father,"
has been supposed to have its peculiar meaning. Perhaps
the Lord, says Augustin 6, hath used both terms on account
6 De Consens. Evan. lib. iii. c. iv

12 THE AGONY

of some Sacramental import; wishing to show that He
had taken upon Himself that sorrow in the Person of His
own Body, that is, of His Church, to which He is made
the Corner-Stone, and which Church cometh unto Him,
partly from the Hehrews, unto whom the word " Abba "
appertains, and partly from the Gentiles, unto whom ap-
pertains the word " Father." And it may further be
observed, that when our Lord, in the person of sinful
mankind, complains of utter dereliction on the Cross, He
does not use this term, " My Father," implying nearness,
but that of " My God," signifying awe and reverence, as
from one who, on the Cross, " was made a curse for us."
We may also conclude, in like manner, that the term " the
Cup," by which our Lord is pleased to designate His suf-
ferings, is replete with great meaning. The expression is,
we know, often used in the Scriptures concerning the
wrath of God : in the Old Testament it is spoken with
reference to the temporal calamities ; and in the Eook of
the Revelation, to the eternal punishment of the wicked.
Thus in the prophet Jeremiah we read, " take the wine
cup of this fury at My hand6;" and in Isaiah it is "the
cup of fury," and "the cup of trembling7;" and in Job
we read of " drinking the wrath of the Almighty 8." It
therefore seems to signify that our blessed Lord was taking
upon Himself the wrath of God and punishment of the
wicked. But the expression seems also to have a higher
and Sacramental import, and to have some connexion with,
and an allusion to the Cup of the Eucharist, by which the
Church is made the partaker of our Lord's Blood and His
life-giving Passion. And this is the more evident from
this circumstance, that on another occasion, when our Lord
speaks of suffering under this same term of "the Cup,"
• Jer. xxv. 15. ^ Isa. li. 17. 8 Job xxii. 20.

THE CUP OF AGONY 13

Ho speaks of His own disciples partaking of it, in some
sense, although not fully in the same sense that He did ;
and also connects it with an expression relative to the
other Sacrament, " Are ye able to drink of the Cup that
I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the Baptism that
I am baptized with 9 V And indeed as all suffering re-
ceives the blessing of the Gospel, as bringing us more near
to the Cross and Passion of Christ, it may seem to partake
of something like a Sacramental efficacy, on account of
some secret connexion with our Lord's sufferings. For it
is not humanity only which in Christ is brought into life-
giving union with the Godhead, but especially suffering
humanity.

THE CUP OF AGONY

Now as our Lord drew near unto Him His disciples in
His agony, therefore we may be allowed to approach Him :
but as it was only the favoured three, it shows the danger
of our presuming to draw near to Him in His sorrows with-
out suitable feeling of awe and humiliation. May we re-
verently venture to ask, what might have been the cause
of this His agony of mind, and the cup which He desired
might pass from Him ? May it have been that as our
Lord was to exhibit the most exquisite of bodily suffer-
ings, so was He also to suffer the most exquisite of mental
agonies ; whereby it was shown that not in His body
alone, but also in soul, He was perfect man 1 And that as
He came to bear our sorrows, may it have been that He
was to bear the heaviest of all, the indefinable depression
of mental anguish and despondency? Or may it have
9 Matt. xx. 22. See .Ministry, 3rd Year, p. 471.

14 THE AGONY

been from the approach of the powers of darkness, for this
was their hour : and that they were now permitted to
afflict His pure and righteous Soul, as on the following
day His pure and righteous Eody : and that with this
bitter cup all that was human in Him was thus over-
whelmed? Or it may have been that dread of death
which is inherent in our human nature, and of which the
Psalmist speaks as the greatest of terrors which our nature
is capable of? And it is apparently in the person of
Christ that he is thus speaking, when he says, " My heart
is disquieted within me : and the fear of death is fallen
upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me :
and an horrible dread hath overwhelmed me i«." And " the
snares of death compassed me round about n." Thus St.
Jerome speaks of it as an expression of humanity, for we
naturally love life, and shrink from death. And Gregory 12
says that " at the approach of death He expressed in Him-
self the struggle of our mind, who suffer strong terror and
dread, when by the dissolution of the flesh we approach
the eternal judgment." Or of course it may have been a
combination of these three things we have mentioned, an
indefinable mental agony, and the operation of evil spirits,
and that horror of death which is natural to man : and in-
deed all these may be but different modes of explaining,
or different ways of viewing but one and the same effect —
that conflict so terrible to humanity with the King of
Terrors.

On a subject so awfully mysterious and inscrutable it
were, perhaps, better to leave it thus ; and such simplicity
is often our best wisdom. But there are some considera-
tions which prevent our acquiescing in the above view as a
satisfactory explanation ; for on the other side it may be

19 Ps. lv. 4, 5. " Ps. cxvi. 3. 12 xxjv> Morai. cap. XVyt

THE CUP OF AGONY 15

said that the Epistle to the Hebrews, apparently with a
reference to this occasion, says, that " He was heard in
that He feared ;" but as He was not delivered from death,
therefore death itself was not the object of His deprecation
or apprehensions. Besides which, when St. Peter exclaimed
against our Lord suffering a painful and ignominious death,
he was strongly rebuked by our Saviour for so doing, in
words that implied that to offer any suggestion of shrink-
ing from that death was acting the part of Satan. Add to
which it may be said, that as Christ in His own martyrs
and saints has overcome the dread of death, and even
heathen heroes have done so; to attribute our Lord's
agony to the fear of death, might appear to derogate from
His inconceivable fortitude and majesty. He at all times
exhorts us not to fear man, nor that death which man can
inflict, but above all tilings to fear God and His wrath.
He was suffering, therefore, under this wrath for our sins.
As St. Hilary says l, " I ask whether it is consistent with
reason to suppose that He should have feared to die, who
expelling from His disciples all fear of death, exhorted
them to the glory of martyrdom ; for what sorrow could
He Himself be supposed to have felt in the sacrament of
death, who gives life to them who die for Him V It would
seem, therefore, to be a more worthy mode of explanation,
to infer that it was not the natural fear of death with
which our Lord was thus overwhelmed, but something
more peculiarly connected with His meritorious and ex-
piatory sacrifice, and perhaps the effect of His divine
charity. It may have been the sins of us all, the weight
and penalty of which was upon his soul, and the fore-
knowledge and recollection of which weighed Him down
to the earth. It may have been, also, the thought of the
1 De Trin. lib. x. 10.

16 THE AGONY

impenitent world, and especially of those His own people,
the Jews, who should have a hand in His death ; and of
His own disciple Judas that should betray Him ; and of
those also hereafter who should crucify afresh the Lord of
Life, and to whom the Cross should be a rock of offence,
and on whom He who was the Corner-stone should fall,
and grind them to powder. The thoughts of all these,
who should have no benefit in His Passion, may have
been the bitter cup which He would have had removed.
And we shall find, moreover, that the sorrows of His
Saints and Prophets, and especially of Jeremiah, that
Prophet who was the representative of His own sorrows,
was attributed to this cause. " When I would comfort
myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. For the
hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt ; I am black ;
astonishment hath taken hold on me. Oh that my head
were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears 2 ! " It
seems moreover natural, on such a subject, to look to
signs and expressions of grief, which on other occasions
escaped from our blessed Lord. And we shall find that in
all instances it was for the sake of others, and on account
of others, and not for Himself, that He was affected with
grief. When "He sighed," or "was troubled," it was
when about to speak of Judas ; and when He " wept," it
was at the grave of Lazarus ; and when He gave vent to
passionate lamentations and tears, it was over guilty Jeru-
salem. The expressions connected with His sorrow, on all
these occasions, imply that it is for others, and not for
Himself, that He is afflicted. Thus St. Hilary says, " Our
Lord had before warned them that they should all be
offended, and that Peter should thrice deny Him : and it
is when He took with Him Peter, and James, and John,
3 Jer. vii. 18, 21 ; ix. 1.

THE CUP OF AGONY 17

that He began to be troubled ; as if it was for those He
had taken with Him He was troubled." Not that St.
Hilary would confine it to this view ; for he says 8, " All
His fear was for those who should suffer, and He prays for
those who should suffer after Him, that the cup should be
drunk by others, as it is by Him, without distrust of hope,
without sense of pain, without fear of death. And by the
expression, ' if it be possible,' He implies that such suffer-
ing was naturally a terror to flesh and blood. Whereas
according to the Will of the Father, it was necessary for
the devil to be overcome, not alone through Christ, but
also through His disciples." St. Hilary would, in this
place, seem to attribute it to those natural pains which
our Lord sustained in the person of mankind. And St.
Jerome says, " The Lord was sorrowful, not from the fear
of suffering, for He came to suffer, and He had convicted
Peter of temerity, but on account of the most unhappy
Judas, and the offence of all the Apostles, and the
rejection or reprobation of the people of the Jews4."
Why indeed should we not suppose that it was for the
danger of the twelve, and of all His ministers, and
of all His Church, and of all the perils, and sins, and
disobedience of us all to the end of the world, the
denyings of St. Peter, the betrayals of all the Judases
that should hereafter arise? Origen again and others,
who adopt something like this mode of explaining
It, especially apply it to the reprobation of the Jewish
people. Origen says, " There is another interpretation of
this passage to this effect, that, as the Son of God's love,
according to His foreknowledge indeed, He loved those
who should believe in Him from the Gentiles ; but the
Jews He loved as branches of the good olive, as the seed
8 Can. xxxi. in Matt. Aur. Cat. « In Matt, ad loo.

18 THE AGONY

of the holy Fathers, whose was the adoption, and the
glory, and the covenant, and the promises. And loving
them, He saw what they would suffer who were seeking
Him unto death and choosing Barabbas unto life ; there-
fore, sorrowing for them, He said, ' Father, if it he pos-
sible, let this cup pass from Me.' Again, recalling that
desire, and seeing how great the advantage to the whole
world which would arise through His passion, He said,
* But not as I will, but as Thou wilt.' He saw already,
that on account of that cup of His passion, Judas, who
was one of the twelve, would be the ' son of perdition.'
Again, He understood that through that cup of His passion
principalities and powers would be triumphed over in His
Body. On account of these, therefore, who He was un-
willing should perish in His passion, He said, ' Father, if it
be possible, let this cup pass from Me.' But on account
of the salvation of all mankind, which through His death
would be purchased unto God, as if on a second thought,
He said, ' Yet not as I will, but as Thou ;' — that is, if it
be possible, that without My passion all those benefits
might be allowed, which will be derived through My
passion; let this passion depart from Me, that both the
world may be saved, and the Jews may not perish in My
passion." We shall see, further, what Origen says on this
subject, when we come to speak of our Lord's agony on
the Cross. Theophylact alludes to this notion of the rejec-
tion of the Jews as a known opinion, saying 6, " Some
have understood this as if He said, ' I am sorrowful, not
because I am to die, but because the Israelites, who are
My kindred, are to crucify Me, and through Me to be
excluded from the kingdom of God.' " And St, Jerome
seems to take the same view; in one place he suggests
* Comra. in Marc. Aur. Cat.

THE CUP OF AGONY 19

this explanation, that " if Nineveh, that is, the people of
the Gentiles, cannot otherwise be saved unless the gourd
be dried up, that is, Judea, let the will of His Father be
done, which is not contrary to the will of the Son, as He
Himself says through His Prophet °, ' My will is to do
Thy will, 0 My God.' " The same writer says, " He re-
quires that if it were possible the cup of His passion
might pass from Him, not from fear of suffering, but from
compassion for His former people, that He might not
receive from their hands the cup He had to drink. He
therefore says expressly, not the cup, but ' this cup,' i. e.
that of the people of the Jews, who could have no excuse
for their ignorance in slaying Me, who have the Law and
the Prophets daily to foretel Me. But returning to Him-
self, that which He had tremblingly put from Him in the
person of man, in that of God and the Son He accepts,
' But not My will, but Thine, be done. Let not this be,'
He says, * which I speak out of human affection, but that
on account of which I descended to earth at Thy will V "
St. Ambrose also speaks much to this purpose : " Nor
is it far from the truth, if He was sad for His persecutors,
who He knew would suffer punishment for that enormous
sacrilege. And therefore He said, * remove this cup from
Me,' not because the Son of God feared death, but because
He was unwilling that even the bad should perish. At
last He saith, ' Lord, lay not this sin to their charge,' that
His passion might be salutary to all8." The same writer also
mentioning that some wished to explain away this expres-
sion of our Lord's desire to put away His cup, says very
beautifully, " But I am so far from considering it a thing
to be excused, that I do never more exceedingly admire
His piety and majesty ; for He would have conferred less
« Pa. jd. 10. 1 In Matt. lib. iv, c. 26. 8 Expos, in Luc. lib. x. 62.

20 THE AGONY

on me, if He had not undertaken my affections. There-
fore for me He grieved Who had for Himself nothing for
which to grieve ; and having put away the blessedness of
eternal Divinity, is affected with the heaviness of my
infirmity. For He undertook my sorrow, that on me He
might bestow His joy ; and by our footsteps descended
even to the sadness of death, that by His footsteps He
might recall us unto life. With confidence, therefore, I
speak of His sadness ; because I preach His Cross. For
He took upon Him not the semblance of our incarnation,
but the reality9."

St. Chrysostom also mentions it as an instance of our
Lord setting before us by His own example, what He
taught us when He told us to pray, that we be not led
into temptation. But the whole subject as much tran-
scends our thoughts as the ineffable union of God with
man, and the prayer He addressed unto His Father must
necessarily surpass all our imagination. In this, the
mysterious nature of our Lord and God, we rejoice and
tremble, and may say, " I will give thanks unto Thee, for
Thou art fearfully and wonderfully made." It, however,
serves to indicate, as the ancients observe, the reality of
this our Lord's union with our nature, incredible as it
might have seemed to be. "First of all," says Chry-
sostom, " He sent prophets to announce it, afterwards He
Himself comes clothed with flesh ; and so that you could
not suppose it a mere phantom, He permits His flesh to
endure natural wants, to hunger, to thirst, to sleep, to
labour, to be affected and distressed ; on this account He
refuses not death, showing His true human nature."

From the very variety of opinions expressed on this
subject, we may see the force of the term by which our
9 Expos. Luo. lib. x. 56.

THE BLOODY SWEAT AND THE ANGEL 21

Lord's agony is expressed in the ancient Greek Liturgies,
as ayywo-Ta Tra^/xara, or His unknown sufferings. It was
the hour of the powers of darkness, and we know nothing
of spiritual agencies. Even of the mental sufferings of
each other, it is said, " The heart knoweth its own bitter-
ness." But thus much we may see, that our Lord's
obedience would not have been so perfect if His human
soul had not shrunk back from that act by which His
obedience was perfected : and, as the Son of Man, He not
only grew " in wisdom and stature," but also " learned
obedience by the things which He suffered."

But it must be observed, that as our Lord's death was
perfectly voluntary, so also was this the fear and agony of
His Passion, such as He might have set aside if He had
pleased. Of which St. Austin says1, "that He took upon
Him these things in His human soul at His own will, as
at His own will He was made Man. We indeed have
affections of this kind from the infirmity of our human
condition : but not so the Lord Jesus, Whose infirmity
was from His own power." And Damascenus also2: —
" Nothing in Christ is to be considered as by compulsion,
but all things were by His own will. He willingly
hungered, He willingly feared, and was sorrowful." "As
man," says Ambrose, " fearing death ; as God, adhering to
His purpose."

THE BLOODY SWEAT AND THE ANGEL

ST. LUKE, perhaps, as writing from St. Paul, who

derived his Gospel by immediate revelation from God,

here relates two circumstances, wliich are more removed

1 De Civ. Dei, lib. xiv. c. ix. 2 In lib. iii. c. xx. Aur. Cat.

22 THE AGONY

from human testimony ; that " an Angel was seen by
Him," and that His sweat was as it were "drops of
blood;" and St. Paul himself, in his Epistle to the
Hebrews, mentions another circumstance of "strong cry-
ing and tears," with which our Lord's prayer was accom-
panied ; and also of His prayer being heard, which may
perhaps have reference to the Angel St. Luke speaks of.
For to this occasion St. Paul seems to allude in saying,
" that in the days of His flesh He offered up prayers and
supplications unto Him that was able to save Him from
death, and was heard on account of His reverence," or
godly fear, or, as it might mean, was heard and saved
from the object of His terror3; as in the expression, "Thou
hast heard me also from among the horns of the unicorns."

St. Luke's account is, " And th&re was seen by Him
an Angel from Heaven, strengthening Him: and being in
an agony He prayed more earnestly : and His sweat was
as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground"
As on His former temptation, when He had overcome the
tempter, " Angels came and ministered unto Him," so now
when He overcame, in His dismal conflict with the powers
of darkness, one good , Angel appeared strengthening the
Son of Man. In such infinite condescension did He deign
as man to suffer agony, and in that suffering to receive
support from one of His own creatures, who was made and
who lived by the breath of His mouth. This Angel has
been supposed to have been the Angel Gabriel, which
signifies the strength of God; and it is observable, that
on another occasion, when St. Luke records the appearing
of this Angel, it was under circumstances in some degree
analogous. It was to the priest Zacharias in the holy
place apart, and by the altar of incense4 ; so now was it to

3 Heb. v. 7, ebrb TTJS euXa/Sems, conf. xii. 28. 4 Luke i. 11.

THE BLOODY SWEAT AND THE ANGEL 23

our merciful High Priest, apart with God, interceding for
us, and, as it were, engaged in the great sacrifice of Him-
self, and especially in the oblation of Himself in prayer,
as an incense most pleasing to God. There is also another
occasion in Holy Scripture of the appearance of an Angel,
which bears some similarity to it, as supporting a servant
of Christ, and granting the lives of others to His inter-
cessions. We read in the Acts of the Apostles, — " After
long abstinence Paul stood forth and said, There stood
by me this night the Angel of God, saying, Fear not,
Paul ; thou must be brought before Caesar : and, lo, God
hath given thee all them that sail with thee6." If, with-
out irreverence, we might mention together things so
infinitely distant, the very words might be applied to this
occasion; — "Fear not, for Thou must be brought before
Pilate; but God hath answered Thy request, and given
Thee all those that sail with Thee through the stormy and
dark voyage of mortality." It is important to observe
resemblances of this kind, as tending to furnish us with
some glimpses of a great principle, the connexion of every
blessing with the sacrifice of Christ. The consolations
derived from prayer are known to men by experience, but
ali such effects may derive their strength from some re-
semblance to Christ, and secret connexion with His prayer
and passion. Theophylact says, that the Angel is here
recorded as appearing for our sakes, that we may be taught
the sure efficacy of prayer ; if, therefore, there can be a
resemblance in our prayers, and a sure efficacy in them,
this efficacy must consist in that resemblance. But here
by the Angel we behold such effects in a living and
sensible manner ; and it is remarkable how often what we
consider mere spiritual effects of certain causes, are in
5 Acts xxrii. 23, 24.

24 THE AGONY

Scripture attributed to living agents ; and on this occasion
we might have been told that our Lord was strengthened,
without our being allowed to behold the Angel. Nor is
there any thing in this appearance unworthy of the Son
of Man; for if He prayed, and was afflicted and over-
whelmed, there is no reason why His wants may not have
been supplied by means of one of His creatures.

From the mode in which it is mentioned in St. Luke, it
might appear as if the most earnest prayer and the sweat
of blood followed the appearance of the Angel, but one
would have supposed it was otherwise. Some have
thought that it is not meant that His sweat was literally
of blood, but that this was a proverbial expression for
the vehement profusion and intensity of it. And indeed
Theophylact mentions this interpretation. But it appears
better to take it literally, especially as cases are recorded
of persons having been known to sweat blood from intense
mental agony, as Dr. Jackson mentions6; and also Maldo-
natus7. In this our blessed Lord's sweat, " falling upon
the ground," we can perceive that He bore in its fulness
the curse laid on Adam, that in the sweat of his brow he
should till the ground, as on the following day He bore
the thorns it was to produce. In both cases did the
Second Man bear the curse, not figuratively only, but also
literally; and that too in a fuller sense than any other
child of Adam. For those thorns it produced actually
pierced His bleeding temples ; and the sweat which He
shed was no other than the blood of His agonized heart,
which fell upon the ground that had been cursed for
Adam's transgression.

• Vol. ii. p. 818. 7 Comm. in Matt.

THE THREE DISCIPLES 2ft

OUR LORD RETURNING TO HIS THREE DISCIPLES

"And He cometh" (Matt., Mark) "to His disciples" (Matt.),
"andfindeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter" (Matt.,
Mark). And here the Gospel of St. Matthew alone would
leave us to ask why it is said that our Lord addresses St.
Peter ; for what He says is in the plural number, as if
spoken to them all alike : " Thus have ye not been able for
one hour to watch with Me ?" (Matt.) But St. Mark, or
St. Peter by this Evangelist, could not forget or omit that
particular warning which magnified his own transgression,
and adds the words first addressed to St. Peter himself,
"Simon, steepest tlwu ?" thou who hast spoken such great
things, thou who art so ready to die for thy Lord : " had
thou not been able to watch for one hour ?" (Mark.) And
then to them all, " Watch ye and pray, that ye may not
enter into temptation: the spirit is ready, but the flesh is
weak " (Matt., Mark). As St. Peter had especially asserted
Ms fidelity, he is more especially addressed ; but as they
all likewise maintained the same, they are all likewise
included in our Lord's admonition.

And here it is not quite evident whether it is to this or
to the second occasion of our Lord's coming to them, that
the account of St. Luke applies; but the words spoken
are chiefly the same as those mentioned by the others.
" Ami when He rose up from prayer, and had come to His
disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow ; and He said
unto them, Why sleep ye ? rise and pray, that ye enter not
into temptation " (Luke). It is to be observed that St.
Luke, the Evangelist of compassion, alone mentions this
charitable explanation for their sleep, saying that it was
" for sorrow," but not either of the disciples themselves.

26 THE AGONY

St. Chrysostom says, "The eyes of the disciples were
oppressed with distress, and their sleep was not that of
indifference, but of grief." The circumstance of their thus
sleeping might also lead one to think that it was customary
for them thus to sleep in the open air, and may in some
slight degree support the supposition that the Transfigu-
ration also occurred by night ; but St. Chrysostom men-
tions that it was not so *.

" As long as Jesus was with His disciples," says Origen,
" they slept not : but when He went but a little from
them they could not watch even for one hour, when He
was away. Wherefore let us pray that not even for a
little while Jesus should depart from us, but should fulfil
what He promised us, in saying, *Lo, I am with you
alway, unto the end of the world9.' For so shall we
watch when He shaketh off sleep from our soul, without
which it were not possible to fulfil the command which
saith, ' Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine
eyelids ;' ' Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the
hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler1.' "

But it may be asked, what is the full meaning of this
word "watching"? Origen says, "He watches who does
good works ; he watches who is anxious for the truth of
the faith." Gregory says, " He watches who holdeth his
eyes open to the aspect of the true light." The present
passage seems to explain itself, as containing both these
senses, that it is a shaking off of sleep in order to pray.
And this word " sleep " may be taken in a further sense
for any thing that keeps the soul from a right estimation
of its true condition : all sin is in this sense a sleep of the
soul ; all forgetfulness of God, and unconsciousness of His
presence is so. Sleep and night are in this sense the
• Ministry, 3rd Year, p. 106. 9 Matt, xxviii. 20: > Prov. vi. 4, 5.

THE THREE DISCIPLES 27

representatives of evil : and perhaps the alternations of
night and day represent " the spirit ready, and the flesh
weak," which is the state of the natural man, in contra-
distinction from that state of perfection where there is no
night, and the Lamb is the light thereof. " For these
contend with each other," says Origen2, "in the imperfect;
but in the perfect the flesh no longer opposeth, but is
mortified. But concerning this weakness the Lord speaketh
to the Apostle, 'that strength is perfected in weakness8.' ''
" Again He departed" (Matt., Mark) " a second time "
(Matt.), " and prayed, saying" (Matt., Mark) "the same
words" (Mark), "My Father, if this cup cannot pass from
Me except I drink it, Thy will le done" (Matt.). But,
although this was the same prayer as the first, yet it may
be observed that there is a slight difference in the meaning
and effect of it : for the first prayer was, that if it were
possible (i. e. possible to the Divine justice, not to the
Divine Power, for to that of course all things are possible)
—that, if it were possible, " the cup might pass " from
Him. But the second implies not only the same perfect
resignation, but even in some degree, as Origen observes,
a desire to drink it ; "If this cup cannot pass from Me
except I drink it, let Thy will be done." There is not in
this even a request to be released from it ; for the prayer
on the former occasion was, That, if possible, the cup
might pass ; the prayer now is, That the will of God be
done. If we might compare our poor desires with any
thing so transcendently and supremely good, we might say
it is but that change to higher and still higher resignation,
which is ever found in continued prayer.

3 In Matt. Lat. Com. 91. 3 2 Cor. xii. 9.

23 THE AGONY

RETURNING THE SECOND TIME

"And He returned" (Mark), "and He came" (Matt.),
11 and found them sleeping again ; for their eyes were heavy"
(Matt., Mark). And St. Mark, perhaps writing from St.
Peter, gives a more exact description of the state of their
feelings, and adds, " and they knew not what to answer
Him " (Mark). The expression is similar to that of the
same Evangelist at the Transfiguration, where he states
that Peter " knew not what to say, for they were exceed-
ingly afraid." "And leaving them, He departed again, and
prayed the third time, saying the same words" (Matt.).
"Thus," as St. Jerome says, "did our Lord not only
suffer alone for all, but prays also alone for all :" " and
the object of His prayer was," says Bede, " that the disci-
ples might obtain leave to repent." But St. Chrysostom
notices on this occasion that very remarkable circum-
stance, which we find so often in Holy Scripture, of the
repetition of an act implying confirmation. " By praying
a second and a third time," he says, " He certifies that He
is truly made man, from that affection of human infirmity
by which He feared death. For any thing taking place a
second or third time greatly demonstrates certainty in the
Scriptures, as Joseph said to Pharaoh ; ' for that the
dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the
thing is established by God.' "

Throughout the account it may be observed that St.
Mark follows, step by step, with St. Matthew to detail
a]l that related to our Lord's humanity; St. Luke, all
that related to our merciful High Priest, which may
afford consolation to a suffering penitent. St. John
omits all mention of our Lord's temptation before, and

RETURNING THE SECOND TIME 29

of His sufferings now : dwelling entirely on His Godhead,
which was of course incapable of temptation or of suf-
fering : whereas the other three both mention His temp-
tation before and His desire now to put away the Cup,
which, as the Fathers mention, was the proof of His true
humanity.

It is in this latter point of view that our Lord through-
out His mysterious sorrows affords us His most perfect
example ; and so far as we approach Him in following it,
we shall partake of the efficacy of His Passion. In this,
as in all other matters, did He Who said, " Learn of Me,
for I am meek and lowly," humble Himself to the lowest
of all humiliations ; for what posture of prayer could be
more low than that of prostration on the ground ? From
the efficacy of these His humiliations it has passed into
an eternal law, that he who humbles himself shall be
exalted. And when He thus resigned Himself to the will
of His Father, far greater doubtless was His resignation,
on this very account, that human nature shrunk in agony
from the Cup, than if His Divine Power had mitigated the
bitterness of His suffering humanity. Again, teaching us,
in the severest of our own trials, to be ever mindful of
others, in the midst of His agonies our Lord returns
from His devotions, being ever mindful of His disciples
more than of Himself in His Divine love ; and teaching
us to combine our prayers for others with kind offices to
them. Again, He returns to prayer, teaching us by His
own example what He had so often taught by precept and
parable, " that we faint not in prayer, but continue in the
very word of prayer, until we obtain what we have begun
to demand V Having enjoined us to seek retirement in
prayer, this also He teaches us, by Himself on each
4 Origen. in Matt. 95.

30 THE AGONY

occasion going apart : and here again, by His own example
also, as well as by the examples of others whose entreaties
He answered, He instructs to say the same words, though
we use not vain repetitions.

It is in this manner that ancient writers are ever
watchful to observe how replete with stores of Divine in-
struction is every part of our Lord's human example. Thus,
Gregory Nyssen speaks of our Lord's posture in devotion :
" He Who carried our infirmities, through the manhood
which He assumed, bends His knees in prayer, teaching
by the sanction of His example that we behave not
proudly in the time of prayer, but by all things conform
ourselves to humility ; for ' God resisteth the proud, and
giveth grace unto the humble5.' " And St. Cyril, of our
Lord's retirement in prayer, says, " Here you will find
Him retiring apart in prayer, that you may learn, that
with attentive mind and quiet heart we must converse
with the lofty God. But it was not as needing the assis-
tance of another, that He continued in prayers, Who is
the most Almighty Power of the Father ; but that we
may learn that we must not sleep in temptation, but per-
severe the more in prayer." St. Chrysostom also speaks
of our Lord's retiring to pray, as our example : "It was
His custom to pray without the disciples ; and this He
did, instructing us that in our supplications we should
compose ourselves to quiet, and seek solitude."

OUR LORD'S LAST RETURN

"Then" (Matt.) "He cometh" (Matt., Mark) "the third
time " (Mark) " to His disciples " (Matt.), " and saith unto

4 1 Tet. v. 8.

OUR LORD'S LAST RETURN. 31

them, Sleep on now for the future, and take your rest "
(Matt., Mark). As if He had said, " I asked you to watch
and pray with Me one hour, but that hour is now past :
that opportunity for watching and praying with Me is
now over ; the time for putting on your spiritual armour is
past." "It is enough" (Mark) ; "behold" (Matt.) "the hour"
(Matt., Mark) "hath come" (Mark), or "is athand" (Matt.).
My need of your watching with Me is now over, " it is
enough," or it is all over, you now can do no more.
" Behold " (Mark), " the Son of Man is betrayed into the
hands of sinners. Arise, let us depart. Behold, he that
letrayeth Me is at hand " (Matt., Mark). " For in the
Spirit," says Origen, "He beheld Judas drawing near
to betray Him, when he was not yet seen by His
disciples."

There is an apparent discrepancy in our Lord's words,
for He first tells them to " sleep on," and afterwards to
"arise." St. Austin suggests that our Lord was silent
after speaking the first words, and, after a short interval,
added the latter sentence. But the more obvious way of
understanding it seems to be to suppose our Lord's first
words are meant as a gentle reproof, and, as Theophylact
expresses it, are spoken ironically, if we may venture to
apply such a term to our Lord's words. And this is con-
firmed by finding that our Lord does so speak by His Pro-
phets, when something else is implied besides that which
the words, taken literally, would signify.

It seems natural to suppose that circumstances, so mo-
mentous and awful as are here described, may contain
some great mystical references, that look both before and
after. That such a supposition is not unnatural would
appear from tliis, that something of the kind suggests it-
self to ancient writers. Thus St. Jerome says, that this

32 THE AGONY

circumstance of the disciples sleeping three times, signifies
the three whom our Lord raised from the dead ; the first
in the house, the second near the sepulchre, the third from
the sepulchre. And St. Hilary suggests a future reference 6,
that "on His return to them, and finding them asleep,
on His first coming He reproves them, on the second He
is silent, on the third He bids them rest." And this he
applies to our Lord's visitations after His Resurrection,
" when first of all finding them dispersed, distrustful, and
alarmed, He reproves them. At the second time He visited
them by sending them His Spirit, the Comforter, when
their eyes were heavy to behold the liberty of the Gospel;
for they were for some time detained in their love of the
law, and possessed as it were by a sleep of faith. But at
the third time, that is, on the return of His brightness, He
will restore them to security and to rest." Such observa-
tions of the Fathers are at all events sufficient to show that
it is not unnatural to suppose, that these circumstances, in
themselves so important, might also furnish analogies with
respect to the Christian Church, fulfilled in various ways
and directing the thoughts to higher developments. For
of course three occasions of raising the dead ; three returns
of our Lord to awaken His disciples ; three times of retir-
ing to prayer, may also have a reference to some dealings
of Christ with mankind in the Christian dispensation. For
very mysterious as the government of God is, yet we may
observe throughout, that His providences have a tendency
to unfold themselves again and again under analogous cir-
cumstances, and in similar results ; and all these going on
to further developments in that which is infinite. In like
manner as in things natural the course of time developes
itself in a recurrence of similar nights and days, and of
6 Com. in Matt. xxxi. 11.

OUR LORD'S LAST RETURN 33

similar seasons, again and again appearing in like manner.
And all these but shadows of greater things hereafter, the
morning of the Resurrection, and the great New Year and
restoration of all things.

If therefore such a prophetic reference is not unreason-
able ; and we may suppose that our Lord's visitations of
His Church may in some degree partake of a resemblance
to these His returns to His disciples, on that night of their
watching ; we may perhaps venture to suggest one point
of analogy in all visitations of God, and especially in the
descriptions which are given of His last and final return ;
— which is the following.

Independently of the deeply solemn interest of this
scene to every child of Adam, there is something very re-
markable in the awful stillness wherein our Lord visits
His disciples, which seems to bear a great analogy to that
of His last coming. It is midnight, and silence, and dark-
ness. And notwithstanding the occasion is one of such
momentous concern and consequence, the disciples were
weighed down heavily with sleep and sorrow, and the arts
of the tempter. There is something in it similar to that
of His awakening His disciples at the Transfiguration,
when in like manner they were heavy with sleep, and
awakened by His Divine touch and voice. And as that
scene of the Transfiguration appears to represent the great
and general Resurrection : so this also carries on our
thoughts to that time, which is so often described as our
Lord's coming at midnight, and finding mankind asleep in
the dead stillness of night. His last Advent is especially
likened to the coming of a thief, which is closely and
literally applicable to this approach of Judas. And when
our Lord now comes to His disciples with His warning
voice, the agonies of that night appear to be over, and

D

34 THE AGONY

succeeded by a calm. So is it supposed that the distress
and tumult of the last age will be over, and men shall say,
" Peace, and all things are safe," when in the night of Anti-
christ and of darkness He will be at hand. In the mean
time the Spirit of Christ in His Church, who intercedeth
for us and in us " with groanings that cannot be uttered,"
is ever calling on His disciples to watch and pray with
Him. He it is in His Church, the great Keeper, who
neither slumbers nor sleeps, who is represented as per-
ceiving the approach of the Judge, who is drawing near as
a thief in the night ; before a sight or a sound of His
presence is heard by the slumbering world. It is He who
gives the midnight cry, " Behold, the Bridegroom cometh."
And is ever ready for His coming, saying at the end of
His revelation, " even so come." And His Church also
awakened by Him, will be able to " lift up her head," and
behold that her " Redemption draweth nigh ;" and, before
its actual appearance, to discern that the time is at hand.

It will be observed that there is something in many of
the descriptions of our Lord's return which partake of this
very awful and quiet stillness which characterizes this
scene that precedes the coming of Judas, and is to the dis-
ciples our Lord's warning and visitation. Let us take for
instance the parable of the Ten Virgins, which, being put
in the persons of virgins, seems to represent the state of
God's elect, in His visible Church. It is the dead of
night, when all expectation of Christ's return seems to
have ceased : so still and quiet, that not only the un-
faithful servants, but even the good and faithful are
slumbering, for it is expressly said, " while the Bridegroom
tarried they all slumbered and slept." There is no sound
without, and no thought within, that arouses them up, as
if they heard a step approaching — the well-knovrn step of

OUR LORD'S LAST RETURN 35

their Lord returning — the sound of the thief in the night
—the movement of the angelic armies. But it is all dead
stillness and sleep when — the midnight cry is heard ; — •
and that so deep and awful, that it has been thought to be
but the summons of the conscience awakening within; or
the whisper of an angel, or of One greater than an angel.
At the same time there is already present One who bears
" the keys of David," "the keys of death and of hell." The
voice that awakened them seemed to say, " Could ye not
have watched with Me one hour?" They are awakened
from sleep, and the door is closed ! Something of the
same kind is the case with other events that typify or pre-
figure this great coming of God. Thus in the taking of
Babylon, that city which so often is the representative of
the world, it is at midnight, and if not actually in a state
of sleep, for they are eating and drinking at a feast, yet it
is in that spiritual slumber which Scripture describes.
But what is to be observed is, that the same still and awful
quietness pervades this visitation of God, and the warning
that announces His coming. Not a voice is heard ; nor a
form seen : but a hand is perceived quietly writing in fiery
letters on the wall, to tell them that their time of trial is
over and finished : they had been already weighed in the
balance and found wanting. He whom Christ had " called
by name " and appointed to save His people was already at
the gate. The same was the case also in Egypt : it was
there also at the very dead of the night, the Angel passed
by with an unerring but noiseless step, and suddenly, at
midnight, a cry was heard ! Whilst Israel, as it were
Christ in type, of whom it was said, " Out of Egypt have
I called My Son," was waiting in quietness, with loins
girded, with shoes on his feet, ready to depart when the
summons came — to pass through the Red Sea of blood to
o 2

36 THE AGONY

the heavenly land, and saying, as Christ to His own,
"Come, let us go hence." There was much of the same
kind in the destruction of Sodom, and in the account of
God's coming to it on the previous night. There is some-
thing tremendously awful in the calm and momentous
tranquillity that attended the coming of the Angels to
'Jhat city, as it must have appeared to Abraham. The sun
set as usual — there was Lot sitting at the gate, and the
apparently houseless strangers quietly approaching — the
Angel seized Lot by the hand, warned and aroused him
three times while he lingered, and said, " Escape for thy
life!" — Early the next morning Abraham looked to the
place where the city stood, and, lo, the smoke went up as
the smoke of a furnace.

The same deep and solemn calm attended also our Lord's
first coming. It was in the stillness of night. There is
no reason to suppose that there was any thing more than
usual in that night, or any awakened expectation ; the
shepherds were watching their sheep in the field when the
Heavens were opened upon them. "The glory of the
Lord shone round about them." "And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,
praising God." At our Lord's rising also from the grave,
it was the dead stillness of night. Among the many
thousand children of Adam that covered the globe, no one
heard a sound, no thought occurred to any one respecting
that great event, which lifted up all the earth nearer
Heaven.

Thus the visitations of God we ever naturally connect
with solitude and stillness, and expect them in the noise-
less step of an angel, or a spirit, or a shadow, or a dream ;
modes in which they have been usually vouchsafed. And
all these His visitations are but forerunners of His great

OUR LORD'S LAST RETURN 37

and last. The throne of God is sometimes represented to
us as borne on living wheels, but these wheels sound not
perceptibly to human ear, though the Spirit of Christ in
His Church is capable of discerning them. And the rea-
son of all this may be on account of the unalterable and
deep stillness in which the throne of God is, of which all
things partake that are connected with it. It is repre-
sented to us here below, by the calm stillness of the
Heavens, beyond the reach of our earthly clouds : and the
still watches of the stars, which are like the outposts of
that dread tranquillity.

As this is the case in the last and great visitation of
God, and in many things in Scripture which shadow forth
that event ; and as it is the case in the sensible instances
of His interference, so is it also in those circumstances
which, spiritually and figuratively, we are in the habit of
calling visitations of God. His comings and goings are such
as cannot be discerned : His ways are in silence and soli-
tude, so are all His visitations of the soul. There is some-
thing of awfulness in the stillness and quiet in which they
come and go. Men love ever to be in excitement, in
agitation, business, noise, or company ; endeavouring
thereby to flee from God, who dwells in unspeakable
calm. But in the intervals of these, in awful and dead
stillness, God visits. This is the case with that greatest
of visitations, which is death. There is nothing in deatli
so striking, so overpowering to survivors, as that dreadful
and unearthly stillness with which it is accompanied : pro-
found, and deep, and still ! In strange contrast to the
agitation and feverish stir of life. The same is the case
whenever God visits ; all things that trouble or excite the
mind must be set aside, and we must meet our God in
silence and stillness, in order that we may hear that still

38 THE AGONY

and small voice in which God is. In stillness and solitude
God is apt to commune with the good, and to awaken the
consciences of the wicked. All these seem but tokens and
preparations for that scene which is on the other side of
the grave : when all the noise of the world will be set far
away; and all its concerns unheard and forgotten; and we
shall stand alone with God j in that awful world where
God is : where there are no wars nor rumours of wars : no
buying and selling : no planting and building : no marry-
ing or giving in marriage : no change of seasons : no noise
of days, and months, and years, but the calm stillness of
eternity, in which the sinner will have to stand alone with
his God.

What wonder, therefore, if all things of awful moment,
when the Judge stands by our side, should partake of this
calm — when the earthquake and the whirlwind have gone
by, and nothing is heard but the still and small voice of
Christ, awakening the disciples ? Such is the scene which
now comes before us — deep and dreadful is the calm,
while the Judge is standing by, in the dark and profound
quiet of the garden of Gethsemane; where the disciples
are unable to keep themselves awake, and the gracious
hand and voice of their Lord is in vain attempting to
arouse them. And now He has come to them with the
intelligence that all is over.

SECTION II— THE APPREHENSION

Ho laid his hauds upon such as be at peace with him, and he
brake his covenant."

THE APPROACH OF JUDAS

SOME time had now elapsed since Judas had left the
room of the Last Supper, and many circumstances had
since taken place ; the cup of the Eucharist, perhaps, and
our Lord's parting discourse in the house, and the hour of
His agony in the garden ; during which time the traitor
had to go to the Chief Priests, to inform them that a
favourable opportunity had now arrived for the execution
of their purpose, to collect the officers, and then, perhaps,
to wait for that dead hour of night, which would most
suit the execution of his diabolical design. The very spot
he had selected for this purpose was remarkable; St.
John shortly mentions it in these words, "and Judas
also, which betrayed Him, knew the place : for Jesus
ofttimes resorted thither with His disciples" It is evident
he was aware our Lord was not to be found in a house,
but in this secret and retired resort of private friendship,
which He knew from being one of His friends ; — the
circumstance of which the Psalmist complains, — it was
not Mine adversary, " for then peradventure I would have
hid Myself from him7." The spot indeed was so familiar
to him as the place where our Lord usually resorted with
His disciples, that he might calculate on finding Him
there. St. Luke had said, when speaking of our Lord's
7 Ps. Iv. 13.

40 THE APPREHENSION

teaching in the temple during this week, that " He went
forth and stayed the night at the Mount of Olives f and
this evening also he says, on their coming to the garden,
that " He went forth, as His custom was, to the Mount of
Olives*," which seems to indicate that in the former ex-
pression He spoke of this place to which He resorted
every night. It seems probable that not only during the
week of our Lord's Passion, but at other times, this had
been the place of their resort ; for it is said, He " often-
times resorted thither :" and on another occasion, at the
Feast of Tabernacles, St. John speaks of His retiring from
the temple to the Mount of Olives'. The Fathers, too, as
Origen, Chrysostom, and Theophylact, observe, that it was
our Lord's custom to withdraw into mountains and gardens
and solitary places, to converse with His disciples on the
sublimer mysteries of the faith ; and especially, says the
last-mentioned writer, at festivals. Here therefore the
traitor had oft resorted with Him, had witnessed Hjg
prayers, and heard His discourses, and here he knew He
was now engaged in prayer. No spot, one would have
thought, could have been more hallowed than this spot, a
more unapproachable sanctuary, fit only for the haunt of
good angels ; but as the powers of darkness had now
intruded there, so also had their earthly minister. And
how remarkable does it seem, that the spirits of darkness
have no power unless they get mankind to co-operate and
conspire with them : in like manner, as the Chief Priests
and Pharisees had no power until they get one of Christ's
chosen disciples to co-operate in league with them.

Our Lord at the moment had gone, as we observed, to
His disciples, from the place where He had been praying,
to arouse them, and said, " Behold, he that betrayeth Me
8 Luke xxi. 37; xxii. 39. 9 John viii. },

THR APPROACH OF JUDAS 41

is at hand." " And immediately " (Mark), " while He was
yet speaking" (Matt., Mark, Luke), there appeared through
the dark olive garden a mingled troop, hastening forwards
towards them, with torches and arms. It is mentioned
that there was a great crowd of them, consisting of soldiers
and servants. And Judas himself, who is emphatically
called by three of the Evangelists " one of the twelve,"
was distinctly seen ; for he was the first of the band, and
leading the way, as St. Luke informs us. " Behold" (Matt.),
"tJiere eometh forward" (Mark), or "came" (Matt.),
" Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude
with swords and staves, from the Chief Priests " (Matt.,
Mark), "and the Scribes" (Mark), "and the Elders" (Matt.,
Mark) "of the people" (Matt.). St. John mentions more
distinctly who they were ; " Judas therefore, having re-
ceived a band and servants from the Chief Priests and
Pharisees, eometh there with torches and lanterns and
weapons" And St. Luke describes the guidance and
advance of the traitor : " Behold the multitude, and he
that is called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them"
That the three Evangelists allude to the great guilt of the
traitor by merely adding the words, "being one of the
twelve," is noticed by St. Chrysostom and others; and
tliis expressive simplicity partakes of that peculiar severity
and sanctity with which Holy Scripture often alludes to
crimes; as indeed do men of humble and holy heart,
under the teaching of the Spirit. And now, as Judas was
seen leading the band, so he advances a little before them,
and approaches our Lord ; and here it may be necessary
to pause, and consider the order of events that ensue.

In proceeding thus we arrange the accounts rather dif-
ferently from some modern harmonists (such as Arch-
bishop Newcome), who would suppose that our Lord first

42 THE APPREHENSION

goes forth to meet them, as St. John records ; and that
afterwards Judas comes forth from among them to kiss
Him, according to the other accounts. The reason for
preferring the mode here adopted is this, that it seems
more natural to suppose that the sign of recognition would
take place hefore our Lord declared to them all who He
was, than afterwards ; and that Judas is mentioned in the
Gospels as advancing before the others, which our method
supposes him to do, and "because it is said, " Immediately
when he came he went up to Him." It is supposed that
the traitor came not only preceding, hut almost as one
detached from the crowd, as if from another quarter ; so
that our Lord's allusion to His betrayal has been con-
sidered as of itself an act of His Divine foreknowledge,
which it could not have been if the traitor had been
already standing with the armed company. And we have
the sanction of St. Augustin for this arrangement, for he
says1, "The Lord, when He is betrayed, first said what
Luke mentions, ' Judas, with a kiss betrayest thou the
Son of Man?' Next what Matthew says, ' Friend, where-
fore art thou come?' and, lastly, what John records,
'Whom seek ye?'"

As it might be expected that our Lord Himself would
not be discernible from the rest of His disciples, especially
at night, and to a mixed multitude of men who had
perhaps never seen Him, the traitor had agreed on a
signal; "Now he that betrayed Him had given them a
sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss the same is He; hold
Him fast " (Matt., Mark) ; to which St. Mark emphatically
adds, " and lead Him away safely " (Mark). The traitor
added this from an apprehension, we may suppose, that

1 De Conaens. Evang. lib. iii. o. 5

THE APPROACH OF JUDAS 43

our Lord might escape, as He had often done, from the

very hands of His enemies. St. Luke mentions one
instance of this kind, when they took Him to the brow of
the hill at Nazareth*; and St. John more than once
speaks of it at Jerusalem8. " Immediately when he came"
(Matt., Mark), say two of the Evangelists, " he came up to
fftm"(Mark), "to Jesus" (Matt.), "and said, Hail" (Matt.),
"Master" (Matt.), or, in emphatic agitation, "Master,
faster" (Mark), "and kissed Him" (Matt, Mark). "Jems,"
addressing him by name, " said unto him, Judas, witli a
kiss betrayest thou the Son of Man ?" (Luke.) And adds,
according to St. Matthew, as if in further words of kind
remonstrance, and perhaps looking to the armed crowd
that accompanied him, who were now coming up to him,
" Friend, for what purpose art thou come?" Then, with
calm self-possession, as if in full consciousness of all things
that were coming upon Him, He went forth, as St. John
tells us, to meet His enemies ; and said, as if to show
there was no occasion for this signal of the traitor,
" WJwm seek ye ? TJtey answered Him, Jesus the Naza-
rene. Jesus saith unto them, I am He " (or I am). And
Judas, who had now stepped back from our Saviour's
presence, stood among the foremost of the crowd by the
side.

Here we have a remarkable instance of the mode in
which one Gospel comes in to explain another ; for St.
Luke mentions his coming with a kiss, and also our Lord's
reply, but he does not mention what the others record,
the circumstance of his having agreed upon this signal
with his companions. So wonderful is the manner in
which God is pleased to supply us with knowledge, not in

3 Luke iv. 30. 3 As John viii. 20. 59; x. 39; vii. 30.

44 THE APPREHENSION

one place and at one time, but so as that it may be
collected from different sources, as if the more to awaken
our interest and to claim our pains and attention. And
by adjusting the different accounts, and putting the Evan-
gelists together, we obtain a more varied, a more lively
and full description of our Lord as perfect God and perfect
Man, than any one continued narrative could have afforded.

THE KISS OF JUDAS

THE very nature of the signal which Judas had agreed
upon is remarkable, and worthy of deep contemplation, as
setting before us the conduct of our adorable Lord and
God, manifest in the flesh. In the first place, it is like
all such minute circumstances, in itself interesting, as
disclosing to us the demeanour of our blessed Lord to His
own disciples : for it is supposed that the kiss of charity
in the early Church took its rise from this circumstance ;
the custom to which St. Paul alludes in saying, " Greet
one another with an holy kiss." But it is much to be
noticed on the present occasion, as indicating the very
affectionate and friendly footing with which our Lord was
wont to receive this wicked man ; and is of the same
character as that of His eating at supper out of the same
dish with him, and washing his feet on this ver/ night.
Such a token of love and gentleness, habitually afforded
to so evil a man, can only be equalled by that forbearance
and goodness which the same Divine Master ever shows
in His natural providence, whereby He maketh His sun to
rise on the evil and on the good, and continues to benefit
the unthankful. This is the conduct He has held forth to
us as our pattern of love, telling us that our perfection

THE KISS OP JUDAS 45

consists hi being merciful as our Heavenly Father is
merciful. But this should render us careful not to presume
on that kindness, as if it afforded any intimation that wo
were pleasing Him now, or should he finally accepted of
Him. For this His mercy is full of mystery, and there-
fore a reason why, as the Psalmist says, He should be
feared. But though the case of Judas might have ap-
peared to all human eyes as incurable, yet the Divine
Physician does not give up His care of him in the depth
of his misery. Our Lord's answer on this occasion con-
tains the last of those touching and solemn appeals to him,
of which so many are recorded. By his name He addressed
the traitor, which, as St. Chrysostom observes, was like
one that was grieved and would recall him, not an expres-
sion of provocation or anger. And St. Ambrose says, it
was to arrest the traitor by so affectionate an appeal.
" How great," exclaims Theophylact, with wonder, " was
the patience and long-suffering of the Lord, that He should
even kiss the traitor, and address him with friendly
words ! For He did not say, 0 wicked wretch, 0 most
wicked traitor, is this the return thou makest for all My
benefits 1 but * Judas ! ' which is rather the voice of pity
than of anger."

Then adds our Lord yet more touchingly, " with a kiss
betray est thou?" for these are the first and emphatic words
in the original Greek. And if the term, "betrayest thou,"
was a proof of Divine knowledge which ought to have
struck him with awe and apprehension, the expression of
" the Son of Man " that followed, was surely enough to
move him to affection. It is not "thy master," nor " thy
benefactor," nor " thy friend," it is by a term more con-
descending and endearing than any of these that our Lord
designates Himself, as one that had come down from the

46 THE APPREHENSION

right hand of God to save him, " the Son of Man." Thus
St. Ambrose considers that He discloses as God His know-
ledge of the betrayal, and still does not withhold His long-
suffering. By manifesting things hidden He shows that
it is God whom he betrays, while He meekly calls Himself
the Son of Man.

In words still more expressive of affectionate grief and
surprise, "Friend, wherefore art thou come?" The very
appellation at once brings before us the prophecy, " Yea,
My own familiar friend whom I trusted, who did also eat
of My bread, hath laid great wait for Me*." Origen,
indeed, remarks of this word " friend," we know no one
in the Scriptures thus addressed in honour; but to the
bad man not clothed in the wedding-garment it is said,
" Friend, wherefore earnest thou in hither?" And in the
parable of the labourers in the vineyard, the bad man is
addressed with "Friend, I do thee no wrong5." This
observation is very remarkable, that the term should be
thus used on occasions of evil ; yet it is, notwithstanding,
in itself expressive of affection. Nor is it without authority
that we consider our Lord's conduct to Judas on this
occasion as that of great kindness and affectionate admo-
nition. St. Chrysostom mentions it as a proof how deaf
to all warnings is the soul which is given up to any sin.
And yet he says, — " that after the example of Christ, we
must not cease from admonishing our brother, although
nothing is effected by our words, for rivulets continue to
flow on still, though no one draws from them; and if
perhaps you shall not have persuaded to-day, you may be
able to do so to-morrow. For the fisherman, after drawing
his empty nets all the day, may take a fish towards the
evening. — Hence our Lord, though He knew that Judas
* Ps. xli. 9. 6 Comm. in Matt. xx. 13.

THE KISS OF JUDAS 47

would not be converted, yet He ceased not to do all that
lay in His part." And St. Ambrose, as we observed,
mentions our Lord's receiving him with a kiss, and thus
addressing him, as an effort to move him by affection.
" Our Lord kissed him," he says, " not that He would
teach us to feign affection, but both that He might not
seem to shrink from being betrayed, and that He might
the, more move the betrayer by not denying him the offices
of love."

The token of betrayal, and the place of betraying, were
both of them very astonishing certainly. It would appear,
from the signal, that Judas had thus kept up to the last,
and still desired to keep up, the external show of friend-
ship ; which seems to indicate more strongly, that our
Lord's words to him, in declaring his intention, were a
proof of Divine knowledge ; and, like the subsequent
manifestation of His power, an indication to them that if
He was taken it was as a willing captive. Kindness
therefore, and reproof, friendly intimacy, and Divine
omniscience, were all shown in those few short words ;
and patience, more than human, under outrage most sur-
passing and most trying of all, that of a treacherous friend.
But it moves him not, for he was as one spell-bound by
evil purpose, or, as our blessed Saviour has told us, by the
indwelling of Satan. And thus it ever is that wicked
men, blinded by their crimes, and indeed all of us, as far
as we are under the dominion of evil, act as if God were
blind also. Nor is there any thing in the world more
wonderful and mysterious than this blindness ; so much
so, that the accounts of it would appear incredible in
reasoning beings, did not experience daily set cases of it
before us. He is passed, in one short hour, from the
presence of Light at the Suuper of the Lamb into outer

48 THE APPREHENSION

darkness : from the Apostleship of Christ into the ministry
of Satan ; has become a servant of the Chief Priests, and
is depending on their aid, and a hand of armed men,
and yet knows not what he had so often witnessed, that
by a word, or the mere act of His will, Christ might over-
come them all, and scatter them as the chaff before the
wind. And yet even this knowledge of Christ's power
seems involuntarily to drop from him, when he says,
" Hold Him fast, and lead Him away safely." But thus
it is, as St. Jerome observes, — he who despairs of the
assistance of God leans on the power of the world. Indeed
this transaction is but a type of those who do so, and of
the broken reed that pierces them.

But the depth of his wickedness, and the extraordinary
blindness of eyes, and dulness of ears, and slowness of
understanding, which characterize his whole conduct, seem
to indicate that he was now sealed up in the power of the
evil one. And indeed our Lord's words of gracious
warning, that failed to stop his headlong career, were not
more remarkable than the minute descriptions of him in
the Psalms. In two distinct Psalms is he set forth as the
"friend" and "companion;" and the very kiss of his
treason is described, " he laid his hands upon such as be
at peace with him; and he brake his covenant. The
words of his mouth were softer than butter, having war
in his heart 6." It is indeed greatly to be observed how
much there is in the Psalms respecting Judas throughout ;
partly, we may suppose, from his being so prominent in
the history of the Lord, and partly from his becoming, from
that very circumstance, in some manner the great type of
the wicked ; and therefore it is that what is said of him
is also in some degree true of the Jews, and a type that is
6 Ps. lv. 22

THE KISS OF JUDAS 49

still further developed in bad Christians, and last of all,
and chieily, in Antichrist. Of whose forerunners it is ex-
pressly said, " Beware of them ; for they come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves ;"
and of Antichrist, " that he sitteth in tiio temple of God ;"
and of Satan, that he is "transformed into an Angel of
Light." For who can be more properly described as the
wolf in sheep's clothing, than he who came to take the
Lamb of God, and to scatter the sheep of the good Shep-
herd 1 He sat indeed in the temple of God, as he sat in
Christ's nearer and visible presence ; of whom Christ says,
" We walked in the house of God as friends." He sat in
the temple of God as one of those twelve to whom He
Lad appointed twelve thrones in His kingdom : and he
was indeed* transformed into an Angel of Light, for even
the eleven Apostles suspected him not. Well, therefore,
might he serve for a type of those awful things to be more
fully manifested in the Wicked one hereafter.

Perhaps too in the very kiss of Judas there may be a
sign of some great principle in apostasy. " But I suppose,"
says Origen, "that all betrayers of the truth feign love
for the truth, and use the sign of the kiss, in token of
affection, when they betray the Word of God to His
enemies 7 ;" and this he applies to the case of heretics, and
says, that " to all of them Jesus replies in the same
peaceful manner." It may be the same principle which
Bishop Butler alludes to, when he says — that no evil is
carried on in a public way, but under the specious name
of virtue. For this is in fact to betray the Son of Man
with a token of affection ; this is practising wickedness
while sitting in the temple of God.

It is further to be noted, that the sin which thus blinded
7 In Matt. torn. iv. 100.

I

50 THE APPREHENSION

the eyes of Judas was that to which " deceivableness " is
especially attributed, and which was the source of evil in
the other false pretenders, or prophets, as Balaam and
Simon Magus, and those of the last days, of whom the
Apostle speaks, who make a trade of godliness. There
is no reason to doubt but that if this vice had been
removed, he would have seen, equally as clearly as the
other Apostles, " the things that belonged unto his peace."
Probably even in their case it was all a matter of degrees,
according to their freedom from earthly vices, that they
apprehended Christ and His words and actions. As it is,
he seems as one under an enchantment. The prophecies
were being fulfilled, one by one, in every event and expres-
sion that arose, but he saw not. Our Lord had been long
manifesting a miraculous power before his eyes, but he
saw not. He had also all his own designs shown to him,
which fully proved a Divine presence, but he saw not.
Very much the same was the case with the Jews. Even,
in some degree, was there something of this human blind-
ness and dulness in the Apostles ; but this was in their
case very partial, and neither inveterate nor continuous.
Was it not nine times that they were told of the Cruci-
fixion? but they understood it not. St. Peter had con-
fessed our Lord to be the Son of God, but now he seems
to have forgotten it, or he would have seen the mountain
encompassed "with chariots of fire and horses of fire."
Although his denial was so often foretold, yet he knows it
not till it is passed. And all this is probably a picture or
emblematic representation of human nature, as it will
appear when all things are revealed hereafter, and life is
over. But now Scripture strongly portrays it as " having
eyes" and " seeing not."

It may be further observed, that the aggravations of

THE MULTITUDE STRUCK TO THE GROUND 51

Juclas's crime, the mode, the place, the accompanying
circumstances, the Person, are all connected with the
exceeding greatness of his privileges. Perhaps, indeed,
it was the greatness of these advantages vouchsafed to
him, that occasioned the abandoned and desperate cha-
racter of his irreclaimable course : for, as Quesnel well
observes, " the higher from whence we fall, the less hope
is there of recovery." For his case is something like that
which the Epistle to the Hebrews describes of " those who
have once tasted of the heavenly gift " and have fallen
away, " whom it is impossible to renew again unto repen-
tance." In the case of the Holy David, it is mentioned
by St. Chrysostom as a proof of his extraordinary piety
and goodness of heart, that he should have been able to
repent after so great a fall as his was, from so great a
height of holiness. For recovery in such a case is in the
highest degree remarkable and extraordinary ; and partly
perhaps on that account causes a movement and a stir
among the blessed societies of Heaven, who rejoice over
one sinner that repents.

THE MULTITUDE STRUCK TO THE GROUND

IT does not appear evident why so large a body of men,
and those armed, should have come. It was probably
from fear of the multitude : or it might possibly be also,
as Origen remarks, from a sort of indescribable dread of
our Lord's power, whether they attributed it to magical
arts or the agency of Beelzebub, or merely felt that inde-
finable and mysterious awe which He shed around Him
when seemingly defenceless and in their power. There-
fore they wished perhaps to support each other, as men do
E 2

52 THE APPREHENSION

when half afraid, by a show of strength. "But there
hath come down to us a tradition of this kind," says
Origen, " concerning Him, that not only were there two
forms in Him, one indeed according to which all beheld
Him, the other according to that to which he was trans-
figured in the presence of His disciples on the Mount,
when His countenance shined as the sun ; but also He
appeared to each according as he was worthy. And
though it was He Himself, yet it was not so that He
appeared unto all ; like as is written of the manna, when
God sent bread from Heaven to the children of Israel,
which adapted itself unto every taste8." And something
of this kind must of necessity have been the case, for they
who, like St. John, saw God manifested in Jesus Christ,
beheld a very different person from what they did who,
like Judas, beheld only a despised man. There must,
therefore, have been communicated from one to anothei
an unconscious fear respecting Him.

There is a simple and Divine majesty in the beloved
Disciple's words, as he proceeds to record it : " Jesus
therefore, knowing all things that were coming upon Him,
went forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye ?" This
going forth to meet them seems to imply that readiness to
be offered up which He had so often evinced. Thus,
when advancing to Jerusalem for the last time, it is said
that " He went before them," with such stedfastness
setting His face toward Jerusalem, that " they were amazed
and alarmed in following Him9." And afterwards when
His human nature recoiled from the conflict, if we may so
speak of Him, He seemed to stir up His soul within Him
to meet the hour by saying, " Father, glorify Thy Name !"
Again to the traitor He said, "What thou doest, do
8 In Matt. Com. torn. iv. 400. * Mark *, 32.

THE MULTITUDE STRUCK TO THE GROUND 53

quickly ;" and when He was leaving the supper table, as
St. John says, He arose from it as if with earnestness, and
said, " Arise, let us go hence ;" and just before the approach
of Judas He repeats the words, " Arise, let us be going."
So now, in accordance with all this, He goes forth to meet
them, in calm and heavenly meekness indeed, as a lamb to
the slaughter, but with a more than martyr's courage. So
wonderfully do the two circumstances seem to coincide
and run parallel together throughout, that of our Lord's
freely and spontaneously submitting Himself to death, as
the Great High Priest who offered up Himself as a perfect
sacrifice; and that of His enemies, all taking a part in
His death, and laying their hands as it were on the head
of the victim.

To His question, "Whom seek ye?" they reply, "Jesus
of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am He " (or I am).
"And Judas, who betrayed Him, stood among them. Wlicn
therefore He said unto them, I am He, they went backward
and fell to the ground" They spoke of Him by that most
blessed but most dreadful Name, at which " every knee
shall bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth." The
prophet and the historian describe our Lord's enemies,
and His own resignation and courage, in much the same
characters. " When the wicked, even Mine enemies and
My foes came upon Me to eat up My flesh, they stumbled
and fell. Though an host of men were led against Me,
yet shall not My heart be afraid." By this circumstance
they might have perceived that they had no power to
apprehend Him, if He were not a willing captive; for
even when He was present before their eyes, they could
not know nor acknowledge Him. As St. Chrysostom
observes, "He first sets before them every tiling that
might be the means of reclaiming them, that it might not

54: THE APPREHENSION

be supposed that He tempted them on to His destruction."
And this is but a visible type of what He does daily in
His moral providence with us ; He warns, and shows
indications of His power, but leaves men to theit own
free will. Nay, by His inscrutable and adorable mercy,
He casts men to the ground ; but they acknowledge Him
not in His judgments, and attribute their fall to accident
and not to His invisible power, and arise and proceed with
their designs against Him. In another sense also is it
symbolical, for that which was then fulfilled in the letter
is fulfilled in the figure also ; for from that hour to this
our Lord by His Gospel seems to be saying to the Jews,
"/ am He." "But," adds St. Austin, "Antichrist is
expected by the Jews, so that they go backward and fall
to the ground, for they are deserting things heavenly, and
desiring things earthly V St. Cyril of Alexandria observes
the same mystical figure. " What here happens in part,"
he says 2, "to those who came for His apprehension, is a
sign of the fall of the whole Jewish nation. Whence the
Prophet Jeremiah laments the Jews, saying, ' The house
of Israel hath fallen, who shall raise it upT " The occur-
rence also may be an image of a necessary consequence ;
for it teaches the utter and entire fall and prostration of
those who meditate evil against Christ.

Our Lord a second time advanced towards them with
the same question, — "Again therefore He asked them,
Whom seek ye ? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus
ansioered, I said unto you that I am He" (or I am).
(John.) Thus does our Lord twice come forth to the
Jews, who are seeking Him in the dark night with lan-
terns and torches, though it be the full Paschal moon.
What He does twice He will do a third time also, as twice
* In Joan. Tract, cxii. 3- - In Joan. 1. xi. 6.

OUR LORD INTERCEDES FOR HIS DISCIPLES 55

He drove them from His temple in typical anticipation of
His " coming to His temple " the third time \ so now also,
a little while, and He will come forth to the Jews, His
enemies, and say, " Whom seek ye?" and by His wounds,
and the sign of the Son of Man, He will say to their in-
quiries, " I am He ;" so that they shall fall to the ground
before Him. Not only so, but " shall say to the moun-
tains, Fall on us ; and to the hills, Cover us8;" for if one
gentle expression had such power, what must it be to hear
from Him " one rough word " 4 ?

OUR LORD INTERCEDES FOR HIS DISCIPLES

IT may be asked what apparent reason was there for our
Lord's thus exercising His Divine power, as He afterwards
consigned Himself as a voluntary captive into their hands ;
and they do not appear to have been moved or bettered by
this event ? A part of His address to them, and the cir-
cumstances that follow, will perhaps explain the cause.
For as our blessed Lord thus presented Himself as a will-
ing victim to meet the danger, so were His thoughts still
directed, as they were before in the hour of His agony, to
the protection of His disciples. " If therefore" He said,
" ye seek Me, let these go their way :" hereby fulfilling first
of all that which He was going to fulfil to the uttermost,
the sign of the good Shepherd, that He "layeth down
His life for the sheep," and that He "loved them even
unto the end ;" and that prophecy concerning Himself, " I
have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the people there
was none with Me V This exercise of Divine power in
3 Luke xxiii. 30. 4 Wisdom xii. 9.

66 THE APPREHENSION

going forth and striking His enemies to the ground, may
have been in order that He might rescue His disciples.
The circumstance appears to have been one of the many
instances wherein the Jews were made, even while putting
Him to death, involuntarily to acknowledge His Kingly
authority, in that th^y not only fall before Him, but obey
His word, that His friends should depart unhurt : for no
power is more Kingly than this, that He should have
no occasion to fight against His enemies, but that without
force when He speaks they should obey Him. But how
gentle and sweet is even this exercise of His Kingly power
over His deadly enemies : for He shows them His omni-
potent power, but withal in a manner so tender that not a
hair of their heads is hurt ! Hereby also, in obtaining
the release of His disciples, our Lord accomplished in one
sense what He had this night declared in His solemn
address to the Father ; for St. John adds, " That the say-
ing might be fulfilled which He spake, Of those whom Thou
hast given Me, have I lost none" The beloved disciple
mentions it as if he had himself noticed this fulfilment of
his Lord's words ; but in his charity, he does not repeat all
the declaration which our Lord had pronounced that even-
ing ; the dreadful part of which was now also fnlfillp.fl ;
as if leaving to the awful reflections of those that hear it
the concluding words of the sentence, which could not but
suggest themselves to himself and others on this occasion,
" and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that
the Scripture might be fulfilled."

But there is some question respecting the application
of these words of our Lord's, that " none of them were
lost," whether they speak of their rescue at this time from
bodily danger, or of their spiritual salvation. For certainly
they seem on this occasion to refer to their temporal

OUR LORD INTERCEDES FOR HIS DISCIPLES 57

escape from apprehension : but if we look to the passage
where they were used by our Lord Himself in the previous
chapter, they clearly can indicate nothing less than their
spiritual and eternal salvation. And commentators seem
to take its application on this occasion in the same sense ;
thus Dr. Thomas Jackson says, " St. John (to my appre-
hension) intimates, if they had been put unto the same
fiery trial unto which He Himself was exposed, they had
denied Him and their former faith. Therefore He com-
manded His apprehenders to let them go their way, that
the saying might be fulfilled which He spake6,'' &c.
St. Augustin also takes it in the same sense, for he says,
" If they were to die hereafter, how would He lose them
by their dying now, but that they did not as yet so
believe in Him, as those must do who perish not 7 ?" But
St. Chrysostom does not appear to take it exactly in this
sense : " The perdition of which He had spoken was not
that of death, but that which is eternal ; but the Evan-
gelist hath taken it also of present death 8." But may not
both of these interpretations be true, according to the
analogy of Scripture 1 May not the Evangelist have ob-
served and intimated that our Lord's words were fulfilled :
first, in their rescue from the impending danger and their
bodily safety, of which also our Lord always showed a
natural and tender regard, as partaking of all human
sympathies ; and secondly, that this their temporal safety
was a pledge and earnest, and also a means of their eternal
salvation 1 The trial, perhaps, would have been too great
for them, especially at this time before they were confirmed
by the Holy Spirit ; and thus therefore as in the days of
Antichrist, the time will be shortened for the sake of the

6 B. viii. s. iv. c. 4. " I n Joan. Tr. cxii.

8 la Joan. Horn. Ixxxiii. 1.

58 THE APPREHENSION

elect, so likewise was their trial now diminished according
to their weakness. However, as in the Sacred prophecies
there is generally a prior and inferior fulfilment; so it
seems their temporal preservation, of which the Evangelist
speaks, was their pledge of our Lord's promise, "that
none of them should perish," and " that no one shall pluck
them out of His hand." Since writing the above, I find
that St. Cyril of Alexandria applies to it this mode of
interpretation, considering that even the Evangelist also
himself had this in his mind. " The wise Evangelist," he
says, " produces this which then took place to a separate
and peculiar part, as a palpable indication of the mercy He
would extend to all who came to Him by faith." "And
this particular fact is to be received," he adds, " as an
image of the more general redemption V Thomas Aquinas
also takes it in this sense, that the Evangelist extends to
their bodily safety what had been said of the body and
soul. And Quesnel says, " This saying, which has two
proper and literal meanings, the one relating to temporal,
the other to eternal life, plainly shows the copiousness of
the Word of God." So sweetly and tenderly does the
Almighty Disposer of our lives blend with our temporal
deliverances, with our release from danger, and with the
signs of His present protection, hopes and pledges, and
assurances of His care for our eternal salvation.

ST. PETER USING THE SWORD

AND now from this circumstance, recorded by St. John

alone, we proceed with the united accounts of the four

Evangelists, as one comes in to bear on and fill up the

9 In Joan. 1. xi. 7.

ST. PETER USING THE SWORD 59

other, and they all combine to furnish us with a close
account of all that took place. " Then they came up"
(Mutt.), and "laid their hands" (Matt., Mark) "on Jews"
(Matt.), "and took Him" (Matt., Mark), seizing with rude
1 lam Is the adorable Son of the Most High, who is blessed
for evermore, in whose sight the angels tremble. "But
when they which were about Him" (Luke) (for probably
the whole of the eleven disciples were now assembling
around our Lord) " saw what was about to take place, they
#tid unto Him, Lord, shall we smite with the sicord?"
(Luke.) They had forgotten the admonition which our
Lord had given them, when James and John wished to
call down fire on the Samaritan city, and the reproof of
St. Peter, when he attempted to deprecate the Cross of his
Lord. At all events "one of them," in the momentary delay
that intervened between their asking and our Lord's reply,
in the eagerness of his defence had struck the blow. "And
behold" (Matt.) "one of them" (Luke), "one of those who
stood by" (Mark), "who were with Jesus" (Matt.), "stretched
forth his hand" (Matt.) "and drew his sword" (Matt., Mark),
"and struck the servant of the High Priest" (Matt., Mark,
Luke, John), "and cut off his right" (Luke, John) "ear"
(Matt., Mark, Luke, John). St. John, who wrote so long
after the event, and the whole generation had passed
away, inasmuch as nothing could be apprehended from the
persons being known, and probably also for higher myste-
rious reasons, mentions to us who it was that struck the
blow, and who the servant was that was wounded. " Simon
Peter having a sicord drew it" We might have antici-
pated that it was Peter, being ever foremost in his zeal
and earnestness for his Master, and too impatient to wait
for His reply. And St. John further adds, " the servant's
name was Malchus ;" — he might have been personally

60 THE APPREHENSION

known to this disciple from his acquaintance with the
High Priest. The very action itself, as St. Chrysostom
observes, showed the vehemence of St. Peter, from his
striking at the head of the man ; and perhaps this person,
from his being a servant of the High Priest's, was himself
the foremost in the attack. " Then Jesus" turning in-
stantly to Peter, who had struck the blow, " saith unto
him, Put up again thy sword into its place, for all they
that take the sword shall perish with the sicord" (Matt.).
Not only preventing any further mischief, but so exceed-
ingly watchful was our Lord, even at this moment, to add
to the occasion some kind and memorable admonition for
good and perhaps replete also with deep prophecy. But
at the same moment our Lord had again to intercede for
His disciples, who were much endangered by this circum-
stance, and, " Jesus answering said, Suffer ye thus far "
(Luke) ; requesting, or rather, we might say, by His secret
royal authority requiring this of His enemies, however en-
raged they might have been. But St. Luke, who is so
unwilling to pass over any incidental miracle of mercy,
mentions, that, turning to the man who was hurt, " and
touching his ear, He healed him" After the healing of
this His enemy, we may well suppose, it was that our
Lord turned again to St. Peter, to console and support
him at this trying and perplexing moment, especially after
an expression of something like reproof which He had just
spoken to him. "Jesus therefore said unto Peter, Put
thy sword into its sheath. The cup that My Father hath
given Me, shall I not drink it ?" (John.) In these most
gracious words, expressing His own most perfect and even
glad resignation to the drinking of that cup, from which,
ere while, His human nature had shrunk ; and also per-
haps at the same time speaking that same lesson to St.

ST. PETER USING THE SWORD 61

Peter, which He had formerly expressed when He told
him, that His deprecation of evil and suffering savoured
" not the things that are of God, but those that are of
men V And indeed St. Chrysostom thus considers these
words as intended for consolation, after the others of re-
buke;— "He not only restrained him with threats," as
Matthew relates, " but also comforts him by saying, ' The
cup that My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it V
showing that the things that were happening were not
owing to their power, but of His own concession, and that
He was not contrary to God, but obedient even unto
death2." And now we may suppose it was that He added
the words of St. Matthew, " Thinkest thou not that I am
able to ask My Father, and He shall set by Me more than
twelve legions of Angels ?" And returning again to the
same point which He was constantly reminding them of,
to show the immediate ordering and control of God, He
adds, " but hoio then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that
thus it must be ?" (Matt.) So exceedingly important was
it that it should be kept strongly in mind, that God was
present in these things, for His own word in the Scriptures
had spoken it. It was the cup that God Himself gave,
and which must be taken cheerfully as from His hand.
When prophecy speaks, it proves that it is His will, and
therefore there is every reason for resignation and perfect
stillness. "The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the
earth keep silence before Him." " Be still, and know that
I am God."

But the expression, " I can ask My Father, and He shall

afford Me more than twelve legions of Angels," is certainly

remarkable. This form of expression is not unlike that in

the Psalms8, "The Angel of the Lord encampeth around

1 Matt. xvi. 23. a In Joan. Horn. Ixxiiii. 2. 3 1's. xxxiv. 7.

62 THE APPREHENSION

those that fear Him, and delivereth them ;" for encamping
implies an army, like legions in the way of battle. But it
occurs to one that it may contain some allusion to His
second coming, when the Son of Man shall return " in the
glory of His Father and with all the holy Angels." And
here it may be asked, why it is said "twelve legions"?
The number " twelve" may, perhaps, signify a great and
perfect company ; according to the use of the number
twelve, both in nature and in Scripture, to denote fulness
or completeness 4. Thus twelve hours constitute the day ;
twelve months make up the year ; twelve signs the zodiac ;
twelve tribes the Church ; twelve disciples the Apostolic
choir ; why, therefore, may not twelve legions, or some-
tiling corresponding to it, make up the Angelic Host ? Or it
might be, as St. Jerome takes it, an allusion to the number
of the Apostles ; — " I need not the assistance of you twelve
Apostles, though you were all to defend Me, when I am
able to have twelve legions of an Angelic army." Remigius
supposes that this mention of twelve legions may have
some reference to the Roman armies under Titus and Ves-
pasian, who should destroy Jerusalem and avenge the death
of Christ. If so, this allusion of our Lord's would be in
effect not very unlike that action of Elisha under similar
circumstances, when to prove that they who were with
him were more than they who were against him, he showed
his servant the Angelic hosts under the appearance "of
chariots and horses of fire," inasmuch as in this sense the
Roman armies would represent Angelic hosts. This opi-
nion too of Remigius will bear on the suggestion above,
that the expression may contain an allusion to the day of
Judgment, and the Son of Man then appearing with twelve
legions of Angels; for if that day had a typical and
« See Ministry, 2nd Year, pp. 54, 55.

ST. PETER USING THE SWORD 63

symbolical counterpart throughout in the destruction of
Jerusalem, it might have "been that this circumstance also
contained the double allusion — to the Roman armies at
Jerusalem, and the Angelic armies at the end of the world.
The word legion is, I believe, peculiar to the Romans ; for
it does not appear that the army of any other nation was
composed of legions.

But there is something to be observed in this miracle in
itself of a peculiar character : "it is the only miracle of
healing," as Quesnelwell notices, "that does not appear to
have been asked for." In all other miracles faith seems to
have been the essential requisite in those who required for
others or themselves, and received the benefit. But this
appears to have been performed in favour of an enemy, in
whom therefore we should not look for such faith, and as a
pure act of our Lord's charity and forgiveness. And indeed
St. Chrysostom seems rather to enhance the action, on the
ground that he was the servant of our Lord's chief enemy ;
and that this servant was afterwards the one that struck
Him before the Chief Priest. But this latter does not
appear to have been supported by any adequate authority ;
and one cannot but suppose that there might have been
secretly some good in him known to our Lord, which
rendered him meet for this mercy being vouchsafed to him.
One might, indeed, be curious to know what effect so
wonderful a cure and miracle might have had at such an
awful time ; possibly in the heat of the moment the man
neither noticed the wound nor the miraculous cure ; but
still it may have had the effect of ultimately reclaiming
him, and withdrawing him from that service ; and with
the deeper penitence, if, as St. Chrysostom suggests, he
continued for that night to use his Benefactor with insult
and cruelty.

64 THE APPREHENSION

Another question is asked, how St. Peter himself came
to he thus armed in company with such a Master ? It was
perhaps owing to our Lord's having spoken of the sword at
supper time ; hut this does not explain it. St. Cyril of
Alexandria supposes that he was thus armed for self-
defence according to the law, which allowed of retaliation ;
or that it was on account of their spending the night in
the open air, for that Judea ahounded with wild heasts.
But St. Chrysostom seems to think, that it was either the
knife they had used for the sacrifice of the Lamb ; or that
St. Peter, from fear of the Jews against his Master, had for
some time thought it necessary to he thus armed. How-
ever, it is interesting and curious to observe, that the
action itself which is thus minutely recorded, is supposed
by the Fathers generally, if not universally, to contain
within it some figurative or mystical allusion. They sug-
gest that this servant of the Chief Priest's, who lost the
right ear by the sword of St. Peter, indicated the Jewish
people, in that they would not hear, or heard wrongly, the
Scriptures, in the letter and not in the spirit, which letter
they say is the right ear, or right mode of hearing. And
as they thus interpret the wound given, they apply, of
-course, the same mode of interpretation to the healing
also ; which perhaps we cannot better express than in the
words of that very patristic French writer Quesnel. " The
right ear," he says, " is an emblem of docility, obedience,
and a true understanding of the Scriptures, which will not
be found any more, either in the priests or people of the
Jews, until Christ shall one day restore these to them by
His grace V Much the same interpretation is expressed
by Theophylact, both of the wound and of its restoration,
— the cutting off the right ear of the servant of the
5 On St. John, ch. xviii. 10.

ST. PETER USING THE SWORD 65

Chief of the Priests may be a sign of that deafness, which
was most inveterate in the Chief Priests ; and that the
restoration of the ear afterwards may signify the ultimate
renovation of their understanding in.the Israelites on the
coming of Elias. Some meaning of this kind is also in-
ferred by Thomas Aquinas, Ven. Bede, Titus, Isidorus,
Cyril of Alexandria, Jerome, Hilary, Augustin, Ambrose,
Origen ; which will bo enough to show that such a sugges-
tion is not the mere fancy of an individual ; but such a
consent of opinion either implies something of a Catholic
traditionary interpretation, or, if derived from one indivi-
dual's suggestion, that it was such as readily recommended
itself as probable. We find also in the Levitical law espe-
cial mention is made of "the right ear6" being touched
with the blood of the Sacrifice ; a circumstance evidently
containing some latent meaning. Our attention too is
arrested to something remarkable, by the fact that the
circumstance is recorded by all the four Evangelists, and
that each of them expressly mentions that it was "the
servant of the High Priest," and all of them record the
very particulars of the injury, saying, " And cut off his
ear !" and St. Luke and St. John "his right ear." Add to
which, that when St. John repeats or mentions such inci-
dents, they are generally supposed to contain mysterious
wisdom ; for whenever he speaks, his thoughts seem to
have gone beyond earth, and to be dwelling on things
heavenly, which he sees reflected in them ; and all human
events seem to him to be but mirrors and semblances,
win. -rein he sees, though it be but in a glass darkly, the
image of the Divine Lord, and His purposes with regard
to His Church. We might almost say, that even in the
simple narrative of the Gospel he sees the Apocalyptic
6 Lev. viii. 22.

i

66 THE APPREHENSION

vision, and the sea of glass which is before the throne of
God ; sees all things symbolical of what is to be in Christ's
kingdom, and conceives them to have a sacramental import,
though he knows not what it is.

ST. PETER AND ST. JOHN

WE naturally feel some interest to know what were the
respective feelings of St. John and St. Peter at this very
critical and awful moment. If we may suppose St. John's
account to partake, as it seems to do, of the character of
his own mind, and his peculiar impressions at the time,
we shall be furnished with some marks of the difference
between himself and St. Peter, which may account for the
difference in their subsequent conduct. St. John, sup-
ported with a calm sense of our Lord's mysterious power
and Godhead, seems to have noticed in Him at this time
those things that indicated a supernatural or Divine Pre-
sence , reclining, as it were, at all times on the breast of
His mysterious Godhead, and drinking from His mouth
heavenly wisdom, and a courageous repose of mind and
overflowing charity. Thus he alone records that mani-
festation of a Divine strength in His weakness, and at this
dark hour; for such was His going forth to meet His
enemies ; and this he introduces with an allusion to His
Divine dignity. It may further be observed, that when-
ever about to mention any act of humiliation, St. John
divinely prefaces the account, by coming down from above,
and speaking, first of all, of Him, "Who, being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God ;" he then proceeds to speak of His taking upon Him
"the form of a servant," and, being so found, of Hia

ST. PETER AND ST. JOHN 67

humbling Himself still more. He presumes not to think
of Him as Man without a previous adoration of His God-
head. Thus, in the commencement of his Gospel, he
speaks of His Eternal Godhead, before he ventures to speak
of His appearing as Man ; and at the Last Supper, before
his account of His girding Himself as a slave and washing
their feet, he says, first, " Jesus, knowing that His Father
had given all things into His hands, and that He was
come from God and went to God ; He riseth from supper
and layeth aside His garment." So now, also, — as if he
observed something about His Lord's demeanour that
evinced His perfect omniscience, and saw the striking
effect produced on His adversaries, — he adds, "Jesus,
therefore, knowing all things that were coming upon Him,
went forth and said." And we cannot but notice the very
expression with which He went forth ; for although it
may be taken as merely an answer to their question, im-
plying that He was the Man they sought, yet it was that
which also denotes His own eternal existence and God-
head ; it was the hidden Name of God, " I am," at which
they fell to the earth. This awful and incommunicable
Name, whose hidden power here overcomes His enemies,
we observe, on another occasion, sustains His disciples.
It is the same Divine appellation by which He stills their
f'-us in the storm, "I am," as three Evangelists record;
for when they were greatly troubled, "immediately He
talked with them," and said, " Be of good cheer ; I am
He;" or, "I am; be not afraid7." For it was, as St.
Augustin beautifully expresses it, " the Everlasting Day
lying hid in mortal limbs, for which they were seeking
with lanterns and torches." And yet, perhaps, we need
not suppose that even on this occasion there was any thing
7 Ministry, 2nd Year, p. 376.
P 2

68 THE APPREHENSION

like an unusual or overwhelming display of Divine power
to a casual observer ; for we find something of the same
kind, on many occasions, when they came to take Him.
Even the officers from the Chief Priests confessed that
they were unable to do so, not only because, as is some-
times said, His hour was not yet come, but also on account
of something awful, and more than human in His words *.
" The officers answered, * Never man spake like this Man.' "
But at all events the circumstance itself, like many others,
indicated that our Lord was a willing victim ; and it is
possible that St. John may have noticed this in his watch-
ful adoration of his Lord. And probably it was the case,
to those who had faith to discern it, that during our Lord's
apprehension there were many indications of His Divine
strength, bursting forth, as it were, like rays of glory from
His secret Majesty. Of these several are noticed. Per-
haps His knowledge of the traitor Judas, and of his
design, might be considered as one. Another was, that
after Judas had betrayed Him with a kiss, yet they could
not perceive Him, nor know Him ; as if to indicate to
them the futility of the traitor's signal, if Christ had wished
to avoid the being taken by them. Thirdly, His paralyz-
ing His armed adversaries, so that they fell to the ground
at His presence. In the fourth place, we may mention
His healing the ear of Malchus. And in the fifth, as St.
Austin remarks9, "that His word was so full of efficacy,
that they could lay no hands on His disciples, not even on
Peter, when He required that they should depart." Per-
haps too, one reason for the Evangelist mentioning the
young man who escaped, was in order to show His mira-
culous deliverance of the Apostle from a crowd so incensed,
it may be noticed, that most of these instances are
• John vii. 46. 9 In Joan. Tr. cxii.

ST. PETER AND ST. JOHN 69

mentioned by St. John. On every occasion whatever, on
which our Lord's conduct is devoutly watched, it will he
seen that His Human nature was ever radiant with His
Divine, the cloud was kindled up by the sun, the covering
of flesh was as a veil over His Godhead, but a veil trans-
parent to the eyes of faith. When apparently most help-
less, His Divine power was most effectual ; as an infant
He exerted Kingly sway on the hearts of the Magi ; when
on the Cross, a Divine power on the heart of the thief ;
when before Pilate, He struck His judge with awe ; when
the Chief Priest and Jews seemed most wanton and
triumphant, they were fulfilling His prophetic word ; and
thus every part of our Lord's life, that is contemplated,
will appear like the heavens at night, at first dark and
starless, but as soon as we gaze, star after star comes forth.
So is it in His capture now. Such are the points which
St. John seems to notice.

But the act of St. Peter, though indicating his zeal and
fidelity, yet seems to imply a sort of forgetfulness of what
He had confessed, of our Lord's power and Godhead, as if
He could have needed such aid as the sword of man. And
the expressions of our Lord to him, which were so calcu-
lated to support and strengthen him, yet convey also, as
we have said, some little of gentle reproof for his having
forgotten this ; — " Thinkest thou not but that My Father
would at My request give Me twelve legions of Angels ?"
And here again, in this expression, it must be observed
that our Lord, in condescension to him, speaks as Son of
Man, for as God He had no need to ask the aid of Angels.
This Origen remarks, — " He speaks not this as needing
the succour of Angels, but according to the conception of
Peter, who was desirous to succour Him. For Angels
needed more the succour of the Only-begotten Son of God

TO THE APPREHENSION

than He of them." And on this account also it is written,
" He shall give His Angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee
in all Thy ways 10." Which of course is not to be under-
stood as spoken of the Only-begotten Son of God; but
either in the person of Christ of every Christian; or of
Christ according to His human nature *. "What our Lord
therefore says to St. Peter implied, in fact, but the first
article of the Creed, the power of faith in God the Father,
which ought to suppress all desire either to take the sword
or to shrink from the cross. And indeed it is in like
manner of expression that our Lord speaks on other occa-
sions of Angels, when He speaks of Himself as the Son of
Man; as when He describes His coming on the day of
Judgment, as the Son of Man, to judge mankind in His
Father's glory, and with the holy Angels. It is therefore
in condescension to the weakness of St. Peter's faith that
our Lord here speaks of Himself as the Son of Man rather
than as the Son of God. And indeed St. Chrysostom,
though not alluding to this distinction, yet well remarks
the condescension and gentleness of our Lord in using this
mode of speech ; as if the very poetical form, if we may
say it, of the language He adopts, was such as was pecu-
liarly adapted to lay hold of and support their weak minds.
" On account of this fear," he says, " and weakness, He
puts His speech into a figure, for indeed they were dead
with fear."

The history of St. Peter's state of mind during this
night appears to have been this. First of all, when our
Lord speaks of one betraying Him, he evinces an intense
anxiety and secret distrust of himself; when relieved of
this apprehension, he is overflowing with love to his Lord
and confident assurance ; doubtless he felt, and felt truly,
10 Ps. xci. 11. l In Matt. Lat. Comm. 102.

ST. PETER AND ST. JOHN 71

that lie. would gladly have died aft a l>mvr. fJiilihcan soldier
in the rescue of his Lord, or by His side in battle. In
this zealous self-confidence he slept rather than prayed ;
and now the hour seemed to have arrived to put his love
and zeal to the test, and he was eager to make good his
promise of dying with his Lord. But, as is usual with us,
the temptation of Satan, who desired to have him, was
from a very different and an unexpected quarter. For all
this was, in fact, not the highest degree of faith ; it had in
it too much of what is human.

Had St. Peter, if we may so speak of so holy an Apostle
— had St. Peter preserved, throughout his trial that was to
ensue, a right faith in our Lord's Divinity, he would not
have failed in that temptation ; so closely connected is
right conduct with sound belief in that doctrine ; not onlj
in that keeping the commandments opens the heart to
receive that great truth, but that steadfastly believing that
truth enables us to keep the commandments, especially on
occasions the most trying and severe. The difference,
therefore, may be shown by the figure used by our blessed
Lord Himself ; " When the floods arise and the winds
blow upon the house ;" that is, when violent persecutions
of men and of evil spirits arise in the day of temptation ;
then he will stand who is built on the Rock, but he that is
not built on the Rock will not stand. The Rock indeed
we all know is Christ, but more especially the confession
of His Divinity ; for on this Rock, right faith in His
Divinity, our Lord said that He would build His Church.
When the floods arose and the winds blew, St. Peter be-
gan to sink, being, notwithstanding his ardent affection for
his Lord, not sufficiently established in a firm sense of His
Almighty Godhead.

But the answer of our Lord to St. Peter, that " all they

72 THE APPREHENSION

who take the sword shall perish with the sword," seems
not only to imply the gentle Christian principle of forbear-
ance and a promise that meekness, to which the inheritance
of the earth is given, shall in the long-run be more power-
ful than the sword; but may also contain a prophetic
reference and bearing to that Church which has attached
to itself so much the name of St. Peter, which has allied
itself with temporal power, and taken the sword in defence
of what it considers the faith ; and, may it be added, that
God has indeed healed, and will heal the wounds of those
afflicted by it ! Indeed, if there be any truth in the
observations we have before made on the connexion of
what is said to St. Peter, or recorded of him, with the
history of his Church (which, like St. Peter among
Apostles, takes, whether rightly or not, the precedence
among Churches), the parallel may be further draAvn even
in this manner. What we wonder at in St. Peter is, that
after such a confession as he had made of our Lord's
Divinity, and after asserting so earnestly his maintenance
of the right faith, he should be so forgetful of our Lord's
Divine power and of this iaith, as to use such human
means in its support ; without sufficiently relying on His
own intrinsic and essential Divine strength, however
oppressed. Now all this in St. Peter seems connected, as
has been observed, if we may venture to say so, with
some degree of presumption, and putting of himself before
his brother Apostles : " Though all shall be offended, yet
will not I." And if this figure is still to hold in the
Church of Rome, it may go on even to the denial of Him,
if it has not already done so, in finding itself disappointed
in using worldly arms of defence. Yet still, should this be
the case, then of course this very history of their Apostle
would suggest a hope that they may be restored, and may

ST. PETER AND ST. JOHN 73

coine forth strengthened and purified out of the fire. This
is a better hope than that after this he should be " beating
his fellow-servants," and that his Lord should " cut him
asunder" from His Church, which is suggested by the
answer to St. Peter in St. Matthew's Gospel (xxiv. 51).

But the question may be reverently asked, " Why was
not this action of St. Peter's prevented by our Lord?"
Indeed, it may have been occasioned by a misunderstand-
ing respecting our Lord's meaning, when He had spoken
to them this very night of preparing a sword. And St.
Luke says that they had asked, " Master, shall we smite
with the sword 1" as if it were not perfectly evident to
them that such means would have been disapproved.
Now it will be sufficient to observe that this difficulty, as
far as it goes, is only that very ordinary case of persons
mistaking the words of God in Holy Scripture, and after-
wards not with sufficient patience perhaps waiting for His
direction, but proceeding to wrong action. Yet was the
action in itself not only overruled for good at the time by
the work of mercy, and by a touching example of the duty
of doing good to our enemies ; but it has had the effect of
teaching St. Peter, and in him all Christians unto the end,
that this kind of zeal and earnestness, even to drawing the
sword in our Lord's defence, was not that in which true
faith and courage consisted ; for these qualities were soon
after to be tried and found wanting. The history of St.
Peter's subsequent fall would have lost much of its in-
structive character, had it not been combined with this
proof of the more heroic virtue ; which thus is found not
to be of any true service in the day of trial. For it may
be observed that the act of St. Peter, however wanting in
Christian meekness and perfection, yet was of the most
excellent heroic kind of virtue : it was no less than in-

74 THE APPREHENSION

curring the danger of one's life in defending one's friend
and master. It was not in his own defence that he drew
the sword, but in that of his Lord. And, indeed, Angus-
tin does not seem to think that there is any reproof in
our Lord's words to His disciples, but only a deprecation
against further defence of Him, which he considers the
words " suffer ye thus far," to express, as if spoken, not as
we have supposed, to our Lord's enemies, but to His
disciples.

OUR LORD EXPOSTULATES

IT was "in that hour," says St. Matthew, and therefore
probably soon after what had taken place, and before the
disciples had left Him, that our Lord expostulated with
them. "In that hour" (Matt.) "Jesus answered and
said" (Matt., Mark) "unto them" (Mark); "unto the
crowds" says St. Matthew ; and St. Luke, " Jesus spake
unto them that had come against Him, Chief Priests, and
captains of the temple and the elders" From this expres-
sion of St. Luke's it would appear that there must have
been these persons of higher rank blended with the crowd
who came to apprehend our Lord, or else the words must
have been spoken later than this time of His immediate
apprehension. There appears to have been something
very emphatic and significative in these words, which are
recorded by the three Evangelists; and the more so
because the full force and meaning of so solemn an appeal
is not obvious. " Have ye come out as against a thief,
with swords and staves" (Matt., Mark, Luke), "to take
Me?" (Matt., Mark.) "Day by day, I was" (or "sat,"
Matt.) "with you in the temple" (Matt., Mark, Luke),

OUR LORD EXPOSTULATES 75

"teaching, and ye seized Me not" (Matt., Mark), "nor
stretched forth your hands against Me" (Luke). An
expression something similar is recorded soon after before
the High Priest : " I ever spake openly to the world, I
have taught in the temple where the Jews always resort,
and in secret have I said nothing." Perhaps the meaning
of the passage may be thus explained : " Why should I be
treated as a robber, and seized by night with these arms
and instruments of violence ? there has been nothing in
my conduct towards you which could require any thing of
this character ; I have ever been meek and gentle among
you; I have ever taught openly before you." Origen8
interprets the passage in a manner much like this. Or
might it be that our Lord meant to mark the circumstance
of His humiliation, that He was treated (now and after-
wards) as a thief, and "numbered with transgressors;"
He who thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
treated as a thief by man, and thus led " as a sheep to the
slaughter"? Or perhaps it was to draw their attention to
the occasion : He who had taught publicly, and whom
they were not able to take because He was protected by an
overruling power, and because His hour (as is often re-
corded) "had not yet come8;" now yielded Himself
because the hour was come, the powers of evil were let
loose : " But this" He added, according to St. Luke, " is
your hour and the power of darkness" " It is foolish,"
says St. Jerome, " to be seeking with swords and staves
for Him who spontaneously delivers Himself into your
hands, and to be searching by means of a betrayer, and
by night, as if for a person concealing himself, when He
teaches daily in the temple. But the reason why you are
gathered against Me in darkness is because your power is
2 In Matt. xv. 103. a j^ viii. 20; vii. 8. 30. 44.

76 THE APPREHENSION

in darkness." Or it might be, like every thing else, to
mark our Lord's free will and voluntary offering of Him-
self; for indeed every thing throughout is of this cha-
racter. Thus, as St. Cyril says, "He refutes those who might
rashly suppose that they had seized Him against His will.
' You could not have taken Me before when I was among
you, when I willed it not, nor could you now, unless I
submitted to your hands.' Hence follows, 'but this is
your hour ;' that is, there is but a short time allowed you
for exercising your pride against Me. ' But this,' He adds,
' is the power given to darkness ;' that is, to the devil and
the Jews." St. Chrysostom says, to the same effect, that
" they had not seized Him in the temple, for they had not
dared to do so on account of the multitudes ; wherefore
the Lord went out, in order that by time and place He
might afford them an opportunity of taking Him. By which
He teaches them, that unless He of His own accord had
permitted it, they would not have been able to take Him."
And Theophylact also says, "This circumstance showed
His Divinity, for when He taught in the temple they
could not take Him, although He was in their hands, for
the time of His passion had not arrived ; but when He
Himself willed, then He delivered up Himself, that the
Scriptures might be fulfilled, ' that He was led as a lamb
to the slaughter, not crying or lifting up His voice, but
voluntarily suffering.' " This interpretation of the words
appears far preferable to the other, as affording an explana-
tion very great and worthy of that occasion, when we look
for something mysteriously significant in our Lord's
breaking silence ; and because it perfectly harmonizes with
many other actions of our Lord at this time, which mani-
fested His perfect Godhead and voluntary oblation of
Himself, in the season of His apparent weakness : indica

OUR LORD EXPOSTULATES 77

tions of Himself which were not indeed palpable to the
crowd, but sufficient for a watchful faith.

But with regard to the words recorded by St. Luke —
" but this is your hour, and the power of darkness " — our
Lord seems often to make use of this kind of expression ;
as if alluding thereby to the emblematical meaning of
night and day, as representing the two kingdoms of good
and evil, whose reign here on earth is blended. Thus
when His disciples expressed surprise, that He should
venture back to Jerusalem, He said, " if any man walk in
the day he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of
this world ; but if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth,
because there is no light in him :" and so on this occasion
He drew their attention to the fact that it was night, and
wished them to understand the figure. And indeed it
may be observed that the symbolical meanings of these
expressions pervade the Scriptures throughout. We are
quite familiar with such common instances as these, that
Christ is the "true light," and Christians are "the
children of the light," and " the lights of the world," and
their works are "light shining before men," and their
spiritual strength is " the armour of light," and Heaven is
"the kingdom of light," and " God is light, and in Him
is no darkness at all ;" so also the reign of Satan is " the
kingdom of darkness," and his works are " works of dark-
ness," and his influence is " the light within being dark-
ened," and his kingdom is " outer darkness," and he is
" the power of darkness." Thus it is said of the wicked ;
" they are of those that rebel against the light ; they know
not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof," and
" the morning is to them even as the shadow of death4."
Thus did our Lord by a few words allude to that "mystery
« Job xxiv. 13. 17.

78 THE APPREHENSION

of iniquity " which is represented by " the darkness of this
world." And this expression also, " this is your hour,"
may serve for the consolation of us all in times of great
persecution. " This is your hour," but the day cometh—
the everlasting day and blessed light, and that will be
Christ's hour, and the hour of those who will continue
faithful with Him.

" But all this happened" St. Matthew adds, " that the
Scriptures of the Prophets might be fulfilled" where it
appears to be the observation of the Evangelist himself.
But as it occurs in St. Mark, it would almost appear as if
they were a part of the words which our Lord was
speaking : " But that the Scriptures might be fulfilled"
At all events our Lord had just made a similar remark to
His disciples, as St. Matthew records. And it is not, it
may be observed, one Prophet or Prophecy, but the Pro-
phets generally and throughout, who had spoken. It is
not merely to show the fulfilment of prophecy that this
remark is made ; but the fact that all these things had
been prophetically spoken, is a proof for a good man to
rest on, that all these were under a Divine superin-
tendence 5» The Almighty and All-creating Word had
spoken, and the events must follow, for they are His will :
hence the law of perfect resignation. It seems as if
Scripture was always more bent on declaring God's fore-
knowledge than man's free will. It is true, as St. Athana-
sius observes, that " God's foreknowledge was not the
cause of Judas's betrayal, or of Peter's denial ; for the
same is the case in the creation of the devil and the first
man. The foresight and foreknowledge of God is not the
cause of future events; but the future events of that
foreknowledge." But the subject is so infinitely beyond
• See Insurrection, pp. 175—179.

THE DTSCIPLES FLEE 79

us, that perhaps we are nearest the truth when we say
least about it, but think of it reverently with awe and
wonder. Perhaps more has been said to explain these
very frequent expressions of Holy Scripture than need
have been done : they are explained until they are almost
explained away : and yet doubtless the constant repetition
of them is intended to inculcate on us some impression
which, by always explaining and qualifying them, we are
likely to lose.

THE DISCIPLES FLEE

AND now " all " (Mark) " the disciples " (Matt.), we are
told by two Evangelists, "forsook Him and fled " (Matt.,
Mark). " It was," says St. Chrysostom, " when He had
spoken these words to the crowd, and they perceived that
there was no further hope, for that He voluntarily yielded
Himself, then they forsook Him and fled6." The dis-
ciples were of course blamable for so doing, for it is
spoken of as their being offended, "All ye shall be offended
in Me this night," and yet perhaps it was in some degree
excusable, for our Lord had obtained leave for them to
depart unhurt. Origen well and charitably says, " For
they had not yet the Spirit, because Jesus was not yet
glorified7; neither the Spirit of Power nor of love. For
if they had, they would not have been thus powerless, nor
done any thing contrary to Divine love." — "They all
forsook Him and fled." As no exception is made, we
may conclude that St. John and St. Peter were in the
number, although they afterwards returned. Herein was
fulfilled the prediction of our Lord, that this very night
1 Horn Ixxxiv. 1 John vii. 39.

80 THE APPREHENSION

all should be offended at Him, when they saw Him thus
apparently powerless; that the prophecy of Zechariah
should he fulfilled, — the Shepherd smitten, and the sheep
scattered abroad ; — that " they should be scattered every
man unto his own, and leave " Him " alone." Other pro-
phecies also were now fulfilled, such as " Thou hast hid
Mine acquaintance out of My sight, and made Me to be
abhorred of them." " I am so fast in prison that I cannot
get forth." "I looked for some to have pity on Me, but
there was no man ; neither found I any to comfort Me."

Our Lord indeed had interceded for them that they
should be allowed to escape with impunity, and they were
granted to His request8, but yet danger might naturally be
apprehended from so violent a crowd. And a circum-
stance occurred, which showed that our Lord's care of
them was not without being needed. For a young man
who, perhaps, awakened by the noise, had rushed in the
hurry from his sleep, half clothed with a linen garment
about his naked body, was seized by the attendants, and
fled away, leaving his garment with them. TheophyJact
suggests that this person came from the house where they
had eaten the Passover, and mentions that some said it
was St. James the Just, our Lord's brother. Epiphanius,
and I think St. Jerome9, mentions the same opinion. But
was he not too old at this time to be called " a certain
young man ?" St. Ambrose1, Gregory2, and Bede, suggest
that it may have been St. John, who was a young man at
that time, and that he afterwards returned, having re-
covered his clothing, and blending with the crowd entered
the palace ; but neither of these opinions is maintained
with any confidence or on any adequate authority. It has

3 John xvii. 8, 9. ' Or the Author, on Psalm xxxvi.

1 Ambrose, Psalm i. 83. 3 Gregory, Moral, lib. xiv. c. 23.

THE DISCIPLES FLEE 81

also been supposed to have been St. Mark himself ; and
in the absence of any sufficient proof it seems natural to
acquiesce in this last supposition. For he alone records
the circumstance, without any adequate reason being quite
apparent for his doing so : and it has been thought, with-
out reference to this circumstance, that it was his house
where they had been received for the Last Supper, which
would so far fall in with Theophylact's opinion. This
would also suggest an explanation why St. John may
have been mentioned, and the ambiguity may have arisen
from this, that both of these names are found in the same
person, in " John, whose surname was Mark ;" at whose
house indeed they are soon afterwards collected8. For
this conclusion would then take in the various accounts,
that it was one from whose house they came, that this
house was Mark's, that the person here recorded was Mark,
who was also named John ; and that the same may have
been this Evangelist who records it. To this it may be
further added, that it would certainly appear from the
account that it was not one of the Twelve, for they " all "
had already "fled4." Besides which they appear to have
been sleeping in the open air ; and therefore would not
have been so thinly clad. There appears no reason for
supposing it the beloved disciple, but his youth, which is
a very slight reason. Nor is the action characterized by
the calm love and majesty which marks St. John through-
out. But, as Maldonatus well observes, whoever he was,
he was zealous in the cause of Christ, for it is said that he
followed Him, and not the crowd; and they attacked
him as being a friend and defender of Christ.

• See Acts xii. 12. « Mark xiv. 50.

82 THE APPREHENSION

REFLECTIONS ON OUR LORD^S EXAMPLE

WE now leave in silence the great truths of Doctrine and
Divinity, which may be mysteriously implied in all these
circumstances of our Lord's capture, and contemplate Him
as the Son of Man. The practical example which it affords
us is in the highest degree interesting and important ; and
all of us are liable to have our courage and charity tried
on occasions, wherein the touching character of our Lord's
example will do more to secure our presence of mind than
any precept. But the most perfect charity, combined with
the most perfect courage which is evinced throughout, is
rather a subject for adoration and worship than for human
scrutiny. For the deepest veneration and awe is necessary
when we speak of Christ ; and the more so, because He
deigned to appear as one of us. This very example itself
is infinitely more conforming and converting, when we
consider Him not as an example alone, but therein adore
Him as our God ; for then Divinity goeth forth from Him,
and makes His very human actions powerful to mould us to
them. It was in an act of love and mercy to His disciples,
even in the midst of His agony, that our Lord was
engaged when the traitor came : it was with a kiss, the
sign of friendly good-will and gentleness, that He was
betrayed, such as He allowed from the worst of enemies.
His words to him were those even now of gentle expos-
tulation and winning reproof, as if not giving over every
effort to recall him even yet. Then He went forth to
meet them with a Divine Majesty blended with courage ;
showing that though He, like Elijah of old, had power to
destroy His enemies without their approaching Him, yet
He only showed His power, but exerted it not. He showed
it to work on them, if possible, for good, and to indicate

REFLECTIONS ON OUR LORD*S EXAMPLE 83

that it was His own acquiescence, or that they could not
take Him. In this critical moment His thoughts were
engaged only for their good ; every word, and every action
was for the benefit of friend and foe. He thinks only of
others, and not of Himself; when He shows His power,
and yet yields Himself as their victim, it is for His dis-
ciples He exerts it, and to give force to His intercession
for them, that they may be allowed to depart unharmed.
And when on His enemies laying hands on Him Peter
used the sword, He prays for them that they may be
suffered thus far, and is apprehended in the act of kindly
healing His enemy, and turning from them mildly to con-
sole and comfort Peter His friend ; reminding him of His
great power, and of His Father's will. He was fulfilling
all His own precepts of love and forgiveness. And now
He turns meekly to expostulate against these signs of
violence towards one so meek and unresisting as He had
always been among them. " You see I have not fled
from you away, for I was with you daily." He quotes the
Scriptures also, and to these He constantly refers, to support
St. Peter, as if to point out to him that it is all according
to the Divine superintendence and orderings of God, and
that He must needs wish to drink of that cup which His
Father had given Him to drink ; for if an earthly father
gives nothing but what is good to his children, how much
more a heavenly ! And when they all forsook Him and
fled, He had prepared their minds beforehand for this the
greatest of trials that could befall Him, the dereliction
and desertion of His disciples, in words that had evinced
His own perfect resignation even to this, " ye shall be
scattered every one to his own, and shall leave Me alone ;"
to which He added, as if to deprecate any thought of im-
patience or complaint, " And yet I am not alone, for th«»
o 2

84 THE APPREHENSION

Father is with Me." Such are the reflections which occui
to one, when allowed to approach our Lord by that term
with which, in unspeakable condescension, He delighteth
to designate Himself, inviting us to Him hy that engaging
appellation of " the Son of Man."

But when the consideration of our Lord's Divinity is
seriously reflected on by us, the whole narrative becomes
so deeply mysterious that we cannot wonder for it to have
been, and always to be, a stumbling-block. It is, therefore,
very important to observe, that it is precisely in the same
manner that Christ still acts, and always has done, in His
moral government of the world, the circumstance which
is the great stumbling-block to those who want faith to
discern Him. Wicked men are allowed to go on until
their wickedness is matured and developed in action ; they
lay their designs as if God knew them not ; the difficulties
to their execution vanish before them, and they succeed.
Christ, in the mean while, is " as a man who hath no
strength ;" and He is, if we may so speak, as one bound
captive in their hands. The power of good is overcome
by them ; they seem to themselves and to the world as
those who have the upper hand, and are successful. Yet
to those who, like St. John, have eyes to watch and see
the course of events, all the while there is present a Divine
power, which, it may be, incidentally manifests itself,
making them to fall to the ground before Him, yet does
not interfere to stop the course of things by exerting itself,
but submits to be put in bonds. And, moreover, as pro-
phecy was so much introduced on this occasion to show
the Divine superintendence, so also the course of events
in the world, to him that watches with Scripture, are but
the fulfilment of what Scripture describes. It is also
observable, in like manner, that while the wicked are thus

REFLECTIONS ON OUR LORD'S EXAMPLE 85

allowed to go on, yet the Almighty ceases not throughout
to warn them, though they are incapable of attending to
His warning while bent on the attainment of their object !
and He ceases not to do them good in His natural pro-
vidence, to heal them, and afford them protection. It is
likewise according to the same analogy that the good also,
notwithstanding the protection and approbation of Christ
in general, are yet allowed to sleep, although warned not
to do so, to mistake the commands of God, and to err, but
still are, on the whole, cherished, watched over, and sup-
ported ; so that, of those whom God hath given to Christ,
not one shall be lost, and not a hair of their head shall fall
unnoticed to the ground. And as the dealings of Christ
are still very similar to what they were in those days of
His incarnation ; so also is the difference with which Christ
is viewed, according to the diversities of moral characters,
very similar to what was then manifested : I mean, there
is the same discrepancy in the ways in which persons read
and speak of the sacred history. Some, it is to be hoped,
there may be, who are, as if, with St. John, they calmly
and deeply adored, and worshipped, and saw nothing in
all things but indications of Divinity ; some, as if, with
St. Peter, they loved, but with too weak, low, and human
affections, being as yet more ardent than firm, and depend-
ing therefore too much on human things : some, as if they
could lay hold with rude and constraining hands, like the
JI-.NVS, on the Lord of life ; neither knowing, nor fearing, nor
loving Him : some, as if they Avould betray Him for a little
money, like Judas ; and that with a kiss or expressions of
attachment. But all these things carry on the thoughts of
a Christian to the contemplation of those higher doctrines
of Christ throughout all the world suffering in His mem-
It is this circumstance of the analogy and sameness

86 THE APPREHENSION

with which He is seen in His manifestations, under variety
of circumstances, that renders those prophetical descriptions
of these things respecting Christ throughout the Psalms so
descriptive of the condition, the trials, the enemies, the sup-
port of Christians at all times ; and perhaps explains why
those prophecies respecting Christ are often expressive of
infirmities, sins, and complaints, which find not a place in
Himself, as suffering in the flesh, but in His memhers.

As the sun in the Heavens developes his similitude
and image in the broad mirror of ocean, and yet at the
same time also casts an unbroken reflection of himself, in
equal distinctness and perfection, in numberless waves,
and the smallest drop of water ; so likewise the true Sun
of Righteousness in Heaven, in all His earthly providences,
towards Churches and individuals, is again and again set
forth in characters so similar and coincident, that, from
being used to these resemblances and shadows of Him, we
cannot fail to recognize Him when we behold Himself
manifested before us. Though we dare not gaze upon
Him, and our eyes are dazzled at the light of His unap-
proachable holiness ; still we see enough to know that He
is but one and the same, whose image we are used to con-
template in the things that are daily brought before us in
His providence. It is probable that the more we come to
the mind of the Spirit, the more shall we detect this
resemblance to Christ manifest in the flesh, in all His
dealings with mankind ; and the more again from these
His dealings with mankind shall we acknowledge Christ
also when manifested before us in the person of man.
We shall perceive in both those features, and that expres-
sion of the features, which we are wont to dwell on in
that countenance which we adore and love. And this we
may conclude to be the mind of the Spirit, inasmuch as

REFLECTIONS ON OUR LORD'S EXAMPLE 87

we lind throughout the Scriptures expressions which are
evidently closely applicable to Christ ; and yet it might he
douhted whether they were expressly spoken of Christ or
not, were it not for this mysterious analogy between Him-
self, as seen visibly in the Son of Man, and in His pro-
vidences. Thus, for instance, the Psalmist bursts into
passionate deprecations on beholding the heavy sufferings
of good men : — " Up, Lord, and let not man have the
upper hand ! Put them in fear, 0 Lord, that the heathen
may know themselves to be but men V This is spoken of
a case than which there is none more ordinary in the
world, of good men overcome by the wicked, i. e. of God
being apparently bound in His servants : but no words
could express more closely our feelings at beholding the
captivity of Christ, now put in bonds. Again, the follow-
ing words of the Prophet would be equally descriptive of
both ; " 0 the Hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time
of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the
land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry
for a night ? Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied,
as a mighty man that cannot save ? yet Thou, 0 Lord, art
in the midst of us0." And so much was this noticed
among the affairs of men, that in the book of Wisdom the
wise man endeavours to explain the cause of this wonderful
forbearance of God 7. " But Thou, mastering Thy power,
judgest with equity, and orderest us with great favour :
for Thou mayest use power when Thou wilt. But by such
works Thou taughtest Thy people that the just man should
be merciful ; and hast made Thy children to be of a good
hope that Thou givest repentance for sins V

5 Pa. ix. 19, 20. 6 Jer. xiv. 8, 9. * Ch. xii. 18.

8 See all these observations exemplified in the Services of our
Church for King Charles the Martyr.

SECTION III.— THE CONDEMNATION

'* I have heard the blasphemy of the multitude, and fear is on
every side, while they conspire together against Me, and take their
counsel to take away My life."

THE JfOUSB OF ANNAS

" Then the band, and the captain, and the officers of the
J&ivs, took Jesus and bound Him " (John) : " and led Him"
St. Mark says, "to the High Priest;" and St. Matthew
adds, "to Caiaphas the High Priest? and St. Luke,
" having seized Him, they led Him away, and took Him
unto the house of the High Priest" But St. John says,
they " led Him first of all to Annas, for he was the father-
in-law of Caiaplias, who was High Priest that same year"
From this, and a subsequent mention of Annas by St.
John, has arisen a question, whether part of the ensuing
narrative respecting the ill usage of our Lord and the fall
of St. Peter took place in the house of Annas or of Caia-
phas. On comparing together the Evangelical accounts,
it certainly does appear beyond all doubt that the whole
occurred in the house of Caiaphas. For St. Matthew says,
that the High Priest to whom they went was Caiaphas ;
and St. Luke mentions, that it was " the house of the
High Priest " to which they went : and St. John says, that
it was the High Priest to whom he was known, and into
whose house he obtained access : and, moreover, the men-
tion of Annas in this place appears incidentally introduced
by St. John ; for it is of Caiaphas that he immediately

THE HOUSE OF ANNAS 89

proceeds to speak. It is of course allowed that Annas is also
spoken of in Scripture as High Priest ; as where, in the
beginning of St. Luke's Gospel, he is coupled with Caia-
phas, in the same manner as Zadok and Abiathar are in
the Old Testament : and also in the Acts of the Apostles
we read of "Annas the High Priest and Caiaphas." But
all this only goes to prove that Annas was also invested
with some authority, which of course the present narra-
tive indicates by the fact of our Lord being first taken to
him. It appears notwithstanding that by the High Priest,
in this account, Caiaphas is meant, and that it is of his
palace the Evangelists proceed to speak.

But the difficulty on this subject mainly arises from one
of so great authority as St. Augustin supposing that the
circumstances respecting the denials of St. Peter, which
now ensue, took place in the house of Annas. However,
on the one hand Origen, St. Chrysostom, St. Cyril, Theo-
phylact, and others, consider them to have occurred in
that of Caiaphas ; and on the other it is evident that this
apparently erroneous supposition of Augustin is to himself
a source of great difficulty in the general interpretation,
especially in making out the narrative of St. John. His
misapprehension seems to have arisen from St. John after-
wards introducing the mention of Annas, when he says,
" Now Annas had sent Him bound unto Caiaphas ;" which
words do not appear at all to imply that at that period of
the narrative He was sent there, but that their introduction
in that part is parenthetical, and it admits of an easy
explanation. And, indeed, it must be allowed that St.
Chrysostom and Theophylact, though they do not suppose
that the denials of St. Peter were in the house of Annas,
yet fall into the same opinion from St. John's words, that
the narrative, up to the point where St. John speaks of

90 THE CONDEMNATION

His being bound by Annas, contains what passed in the
house of Annas. So also does our own Bishop Andrews,
who thus arranges it in his Devotions ; where, before his
enumeration of the indignities offered to our Lord in the
palace of Caiaphas, he speaks of His being struck by the
attendant before Annas : and Bishop Taylor, in his Life of
Christ, does likewise the same. But these great names do
not carry the authority on this subject which they other-
wise would, as they are not critically harmonizing and
arranging the narrative, but merely dwelling on the circum-
stances as the mention of them occurs in the Gospels, as
subjects of practical or devotional contemplation. Whereas
St. John, speaking more at length of Caiaphas, and then
of the introduction of St. Peter into the hall, of himself
clearly indicates that he is then speaking of the hall of
Caiaphas.

But if the whole account is thus to be confined to the
house of Caiaphas, the question arises, What could have
been the purpose in going to the house of Annas ? The
explanation about to be given of this point will, I think,
account for the mention of it by St. John, and also afford
a satisfactory reason for our Lord being taken there. The
reasons which have hitherto been alleged, however true in
themselves, do not appear sufficient to explain it. St.
Augustin 9 suggests that it might have been from the desire
of Caiaphas, or that the house of Annas was by the way
as they passed : St. Chrysostom, that it was from a feeling
of triumphant malice, and as a sort of wanton display q
their victim. Our own Ven. Bede expresses a sentimen"
which is thankfully accepted in confirmation of this view,
that thus Annas became in some degree accessory to the
crime of our Lord's death ; and that it was thus divinely
9 In Joan. Tract, c. xiii. 5.

THE HOUSh OF ANNAS 91

ordered, so that he who was the kinsman of the High
Priest in blood became partaker of his crime also. We
may gladly allow of this inference, as intimating the indi-
cations of a mysterious Divine superintendence, by which
every part of the Jewish nation had, as we shall after-
wards have occasion to see, a part in our Lord's death.
For Annas was evidently one in authority, and therefore a
representative of the nation ; and, as we shall show, made
himself in an important respect guilty of His condemna-
tion. But these reflections on the subject do not in fact
explain it ; for they still leave quite untouched the former
question which was at issue, viz. What were, humanly
speaking, the reasons and the motives in the agents that
induced them first of all to take our Lord, on His appre-
hension, to the house of Annas ? We may, I think, see a
reason for it, which will in no way contravene those pur-
poses which St. Augustin and Chrysostom suggest, nor yet
the reflection of Bede, by merely considering what was the
state of feeling in our Lord's enemies at the time. The
great object which they had in view, throughout the whole
of our Lord's apprehension, was either to avoid the know-
ledge of the people, or to apprehend Him in spite of
them. This was the reason for their taking Him by night ;
it was from their fear of the people that they were
accompanied with a band so numerous and strongly armed :
and the admonition of Judas, that they should hold Him
fast and lead Him away safely, indicates some fear of His
escape. While therefore they were, as was evidently the
case, in this state of apprehension, it is natural to suppose
that they should first of all take Him to a private house,
where they might put Him more securely in bonds, and
so prevent any rescue on the part of our Lord's disciples
or followers, before they took Him to the more public hall

92 THE CONDEMNATION

of the High Priest ; where the Sanhedrim were used to
meet, and other people of various sorts assembled. Now
in confirmation of this view, we find, I think, that there
is hut one circumstance mentioned with reference to our
Lord's being taken there ; and this both fully agrees with
the supposition above given, and indeed requires it for its
explanation ; for St. John introduces by the way, and out
of the thread of his narrative, the mention of Annas, as
explaining and aggravating the circumstance he was speak-
ing of, viz. that when our Lord was struck as he described,
He was already in bonds ; for that He had been bound at
the house of Annas, " now Annas had sent Him bound to
Caiaphas the High Priest V It is probable that this cir-
cumstance of our Lord being taken first of all to the
house of Annas was not in any other way material on
account of any thing that occurred there; so that the
other Evangelists entirely omit the mention of it : but
St. John records it partly perhaps in a natural way, as he
was probably now following the crowd, and waiting whilst
our Lord was detained there; and partly from some
Divine purpose, which he often indicates in matters
apparently trivial.

There is also another circumstance to be considered
with regard to putting our Lord in bonds; that subse-
quently in the account it is stated *, that the Sanhedrim
bound Him after they had condemned Him to death, and
before taking Him to Pilate. And thence a difficulty
arises, how they can be said to put Him into bonds at
that time, if He was already bound in the house of Annas.
But if we suppose that at the house of Annas He was
merely put in bonds for the sake of security, and after-
wards into the chains of a criminal condemned to death,
1 Jolm xviii. 24. * See p. 165,

CHRIST IN BONDS 93

in order that He might he delivered in that manner to the
governor, this will satisfactorily explain the difficulty.
" It was the custom of the Jews," says Bede, " that when
they had condemned any one to death, they delivered him
bound to the governor, that the governor, by seeing him
bound, might understand that he was condemned to death."
Thus, therefore, was our Blessed Lord led to the house of
Annas, according to the human motives of the agents, in
order to secure Him more safely as a prisoner : with regard
to our Blessed Lord Himself as a voluntary Victim, it was
adding to His humifiations to be led, at will and in sport,
from place to place. But according to the Divine super-
intendence, which regulated every circumstance with re-
spect to Christ, even in the conduct of wicked men, it
was in order that every part of that guilty nation might
have a share in His innocent blood, the blood of the
Victim slain by all and for all ; and that as a nation all
might suffer the penalty of the crime.

CHRIST IN BONDS

Now therefore we come to this amazing scene, to contem-
plate our Lord as led away captive ! Surely if St. Paul
could say, " remember my bonds," how much more does
Christ call upon us to remember His bonds 1

He is in bonds, but it is altogether for our sakes :
those bonds were due to us for our manifold misdeeds,
but Christ is bound that we may go free. Seeing us tied
and bound with the chain of our sins, Christ is bound
with galling and severe cords of oppression, but it is
because He was bound also with the stronger cords of
love. " Could He not set Himself free," says St. Cyril 8,
» Leot. xiii. 12.

94 THE CONDEMNATION

"who freed Lazarus from the "bonds of death after four
days, and loosed Peter from the iron bands of his prison ?
Angels stood around Him ready, saying, ' Let us burst their
"bands in sunder ;' but they held back, because their Lord
was pleased to undergo it."

From henceforth, as every other evil of life is sanctified
by His sufferings, so captivity also is rendered a blessing,
and even sweet and profitable for the love of Christ4.
From hence arise those interesting accounts of suffering
saints who have spoken of captivity as being replete with
blessed fruits ; sufferings which are, as St. Paul says of
his own bonds, to " the furtherance of the Gospel," and
in which " the Gospel is not bound." Christ is in bonds,
but it is altogether for our sakes : Quesnel has well said,
" the binding of Christ is the effect, the punishment, and
the remedy of the ill use which we make of our liberty."
And as it is the punishment of our earthly liberty, so is
it the purchase of our heavenly liberty, of that which is
called " perfect freedom " and " the glorious liberty of the
children of God."

As this His captivity and the effects of it are developed
in His children till the end of the world : so also it is
prefigured in those that went before. "Here," as St.
Jerome says, " is the true Joseph, sold by his brethren, so
that the iron entered his soul." Here, we may add, is
Samson, the true Nazarite, in the hands of his enemies.
Here is the obedient Isaac, bound by his Father. Here is
Jeremiah, the man of sorrows, put in bonds for his testi-
mony to the truth of God. Here is Judah, whom his
" brethren shall praise," led captive to Babylon ; taking

4 /uei/et Tb Oeiov Sov\tta irep tv £vy$. JEech. Ag. But the con-
trary occurs in a poet of our own : " Patience itself is meanness
in a slave."

CHRIST IN BONDS 95

our sins upon Him, as if they were His own, and saying,
" the yoke of my transgression is bound by his hand :
they are wreathed and come up upon My neck : He hath
made My strength to fall j the Lord hath delivered Me
into their hands6." "He hath hedged Me about, that I
cannot get out : He hath made My chain heavy V And
the disciples might take up their lamentation, and say,
" they hunt our steps that we cannot go in our streets :
our end is near ;" " the breath of our nostrils, the Anointed
of the Lord, is taken in their pits, of Whom we said,
Under His shadow we shall live7." But what tongue
shall worthily declare the sufferings of the Son of Man !
for if His " knees were weak through fasting," and the
chains were on His weak frame, how much more keen and
heavy was that iron which, in the language of Holy Scrip-
ture, entered into His soul ! Betrayed by one friend,
denied by another, deserted by all, and soon, — as it might
appear from our Lord's bitter cry upon the Cross, — to be
forsaken of God ! And even now was He suffering under
the weight of His unknown heavy agony, and with the
drops of that bloody sweat still fresh upon His sacred
Body. Well, therefore, in the 109th Psalm, which de-
scribes Judas as taking Him, is He spoken of as " the
poor and helpless man who was vexed at the heart," as
one " helpless and poor," whose " heart was wounded "
within Him. Who indeed but His own Psalmist, the
man after His own heart, could rightly speak of His sor-
rows] "I go hence, like the shadow that departeth," —
"He brought down My strength in My journey, and
shortened My days."

And now, having followed our Lord through the scene
of His betrayal and capture throughout the Psalms, and
1 Lam. i. 14. • (Jii. iii. 7. T Ch. iv. 20.

96 THE CONDEMNATION

especially the 109th Psalm, we come to the concluding
verse of the scene, where we have the assurance that
" God will stand by Him, and save Him, and deliver His
soul from unrighteous judges." In what way He will
deliver Him is here left in mysterious silence ; but in the
following Psalm, the 110th, there opens a new scene in
Heavenly places, wherein " the Lord said to My Lord, Sit
Thou on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy
footstool." For thus we may suppose that our Lord, with
the Psalms in His mind, as they seem to have been
throughout, now arrives at that scene in the Hall of Caia-
phas, where the remarkable testimony to which He bears
witness is the great truth contained in the 110th Psalm.

THE PALACE OF CAIAPHAS

FROM the house of Annas our Lord was led very shortly
after to the palace of the High Priest ; not, however, as a
criminal before a just judge, for the determination of the
High Priest had been already made, and St. John, in
mentioning him on this occasion, adds, " now it was
Caiaphas who had given counsel to the Jeivs, that it was
expedient for one man to die for the people" "We learn
further from Josephus, that he had obtained the Ponti-
ficate for the year from the Romans, for money ; and was
inclined to exercise that office in their favour. Naturally,
then, he would exercise unjustly that which he had un-
justly obtained. Yet even this injustice, as we are told
on that occasion, was fall of Divine prophecy, " for such,"
says St. Chrysostom, " is the superabundance of truth,
that even its enemies speak the same." But in thus
speaking divinely, and truly, though he meant it wickedly

THE PALACE OF CAIAPHAS 97

and iii a worldly sense, he afforded but one instance,
among many, in all that took place on this momentous
scene, whereby the purpose of God, together with the free
will of man, is discernible throughout in every part ; the
overruling control of God commanding, but the madness
of in en executing His commands, even in their own dis-
obedience and rebellion against Him.

The High Priest was now up, in his hall, and " all the
C/it'cf Priests1' (Mark) "and the Elders and the Scribe*"
(Matt., Mark) "were collected" (Matt.), or at least were
now " collecting with him " (Mark) and awaiting the return
of their emissaries with the prisoner. It is mentioned on
another occasion that the palace of the High Priest was the
usual place of their assembling 8, but it does not appear
that this was yet the formal meeting of the Sanhedrim, for
that seems to have taken place later in the morning ; but
that merely on account of their animosity, and their wish
to support with their advice, and to know the intentions
of Caiaphas, they were already assembling around him.
"The Scribes and Elders," says St. Chrysostom, "were
collected together, that they might do all things according
to the mind of the Chief Priest: for Caiaphas was the
High Priest. And thus they spent their night, and con-
tinued in watching, and without sleep, for this purpose."
— "For they were exceedingly enraged; and after so
many vain attempts to kill Him, having now unexpectedly
taken Him, they neglected even the Passover to gratify
their murderous intent." Our blessed Lord was now set
before them bound ; and their enmity and hatred, which
had been so long increasing, was turning to exultation at
the sight of their victim, apparently helpless, before them,
and in their power. And the High Priest began to qucs-
8 Matt. xxvi. 3.

98 THE CONDEMNATION

tion Him. Scripture had "before described it. " The rulers
take counsel together against the Lord, and against His
Anointed." "They cast their heads together with one
consent ; and are confederate against " Him. " They spake
against Him with false tongues, and compassed Him about
with words of hatred." " They took this counsel together,
saying, God hath forsaken Him : persecute Him and take
Him, for there is none to deliver Him."

In the mean time St. Peter and St. John were following
the crowd. " But Simon Peter followed Jesus, and that
other disciple" says St. John. The other Evangelists
make no mention of this other disciple, but only say
expressly, that "Peter afar off followed" (Matt., Mark,
Luke) " Him" (Matt., Mark). His following at all when
the other disciples had fled, evinces, of course, that zeal
and great fervour by which he was made meet to become
the first of Apostles ; but at the same time, if his follow-
ing testified his zeal and love, yet the expression "afar
off," may serve to signify his fear. As he looked before
him, and watched the crowd, and saw his Lord violently
dragged along as a powerless captive, the faith of his great
Confession began to give way. This his following from
afar has been thought to represent the Church afar off
following her Lord ; as St. Paul speaks of " her filling up
that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ '," and
" even unto this present hour, we both hunger, and
thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no
certain dwelling place 10," after the pattern of her Lord.
He followed as we must follow, but it was "afar off,"
for indeed if any one follows Christ it must be "afar off."
Origen, St. Augustin11, and St. Chrysostom 12 all allow
that "the other disciple" was St. John himself. The
9 Col. i. 24. 10 1 Cor. iv. 11. »» Tr. cxiii. 12 Horn. Ixxxiii.

THE PALACE OF CAIAPHAS 99

latter says, "why did he conceal his name? As lie lnul
lain on Jesus's breast he naturally conceals himself." This
indeed accounts for the humility inseparable from good
men ; approaching nearer to the light of God's presence,
they see their own nothingness, and wish to be hid, so
that the words expressive of the highest Divine affection
are, " Thou art a place to hide me in." Such is indeed
especially the case in deep contemplative affection, such as
St. John's was. And observe, that while He introduces
himself into the narrative in the simplicity of Divine love,
yet he would lead us to infer what doubtless he himself
felt, that his knowledge of the High Priest made it not so
great an act of courage on his part as it was in his beloved
friend, St. Peter. "Now that other disciple was known
unto the High Priest, and " on that account obtaining
admission, " he entered together with Jesus into the hall of
the High Priest. But Peter stood without, at the door.
Tlie other disciple, therefore, who was known to the lliijh
Priest, went out and spake to the woman that kept the
door, and brought in Peter " (John).

The denials of St. Peter do not appear to have preceded
the examination and ill-treatment of our Lord, but to have
taken place about the same time, and perhaps, for the most
part, while our Lord was being buffeted by the servants
after His having been questioned by the Chief Priest. For
the times of St. Peter's last and first denials were distinctly
marked by the two Growings of the cock. " Concerning
the temptation of St. Peter," says Augustin, " which took
place between these insults of our Lord, all do not relate
in the same order: for Matthew and Mark first mention the
latter, and afterwards the temptation of Peter. But Luko
first unfolds the temptation of Peter, and then these in-
sults of the Lord." The state of the case is here clearly
H 2

100 THE CONDEMNATION

mentioned, excepting that the difference which St. Augus-
tin remarks between the first two Evangelists and St. Luke
may be this, that the examination of which St. Luke
speaks, is not that before Caiaphas, which the other two
record, but that before the Sanhedrim, later in the morn-
ing, and after the ill-treatment of the servants. And to
this account of the other Evangelists it is to be added, that
St. John interweaves and blends the denials of St. Peter
with the narrative concerning our Lord, which account
appears to be precisely as the circumstances took place ;
we may therefore, in considering the arrangement of the
incidents, adhere to the order of his narrative, although,
for the sake of convenience, we proceed first of all to give
the account of St. Peter's denials. St. John mentions
what took place with regard to the one, and then passes to
speak of what was taking place with regard to the other.
This sets before us the whole account, and naturally indi-
cates, I think, that it was coincident, not only with regard
to time, but also with regard to place ; and that St. Peter
was in the same hall with our Lord, although in a different
part of it. St. Augustin, indeed, and some others, have
supposed that our Lord's examination before Caiaphas was
taking place in a different room. To support this, St.
Augustin is obliged to suppose that our Lord's looking on
St. Peter is to be explained mystically, and not literally ;
but one cannot think that the letter is ever set aside by
the spiritual interpretation. Again, Dr. Townson suggests
that our Lord, after being questioned by the Chief Priest,
was removed, and put out into the place where the ser-
vants were, while Caiaphas consulted with the Elders
concerning Him ; and that He was there being insulted
by them, at the time when He looked on St. Peter ; and
that afterwards, when the Sanhedrim had assembled on

THE DENIALS OF ST. PETER 101

the morning, He was led again to their council-chamber,
as the Evangelists mention. This may have been the case ;
the supposition falls in, for the most part, with the diffe-
rent accounts, and is of itself natural and easy. But not-
withstanding, as there is nothing in the sacred narratives
that alludes to this having been the case, and no early
writers that mention it as traditional ; and since the
accounts of the two orders of circumstances with respect
to our Lord and St. Peter run so simultaneously in St.
John, as to lead one naturally to infer it was in the same
place ; and as there is no difficulty whatever in supposing
it to be all in one large room, it seems safer to adhere to
this arrangement. And, first of all, with regard to the
whole case of St. Peter.

THE DENIALS OF ST. PETER

THE place into which they were admitted seems proKil>lv
to have been a large kind of hall, such as we are familiar
with in public buildings and colleges, in the upper, and
probably raised, part of which the Chief Priests were
assembling, and the High 'Priest was interrogating the
Ever Blessed Jesus. In the lower part of this hall were
the attendants and servants, and into this place, among
them, it was that St. Peter was admitted. The very
variety and discrepancy of the expressions with which it
is described, will tend, if put together, to afford the best
description we can have of the place. St. Matthew, in
speaking of our blessed Lord, mentions where St. Peter
was, as his being " in the hall without," and St. Mark, " in
tin- hall below," or as the Vulgate translation has it (in
atrio deorsu?7i), in the hall towards the lower part, or

102 THE CONDEMNATION

down "below; and yet, though it appears an outer and
lower part, yet we may infer that it was in the same room,
for our Lord turned and looked on Peter. Besides which
St. Mark also speaks of it as " within the hall 1;" and St.
Luke mentions the fire, where St. Peter was, as being " in
the midst of the hall." Such, therefore, was the place
into which they had all now come; St. Peter and the
attendants were within the hall ; but our Lord was at the
further end, in an upper and interior raised part, in the
sight of those who were in the lower part of the hall.

It was now dark and about midnight, being nearly
twelve o'clock, and probably this lower or outer part of
the hall was dark, excepting for the light of the fire in
one part, around which a mingled group of persons were
collecting on account of the cold. For St. John says,
"the servants and attendants had made a fire, for it was
cold." And St. Luke, "now when they had kindled afire
in the midst of the hall, and while they sat together, Peter
sat in the midst of them;" perhaps sitting in the midst to
avoid observation. " He sat there together with the atten-
dants" says St. Matthew and St. Mark, " to see the end"
(Matt.); "and" St. Mark adds, "was warming himself to-
wards the light." These considerations will account for
the circumstances which gave rise to the first accusation
and denial. On the first occasion, all the accounts agree
in saying, that the person who first charged him was a
woman ; and St. John adds, that this woman was the
door-keeper who had admitted him. It is probable, there-
fore, that the first thing which attracted her attention to
him was connected with her office ; that the light which
she had in her hand fell upon him as she admitted him in
the dark ; and that as a person in such a place of respon-

1 Mark xiv. 54. ?iKo\ovOr)<r€i' O.UT$ e'cos ora> (Is ri]V av\-hv.

THE DENIALS OF ST. PETER 103

sible trust she was more observant. But it was not on his
admission that she charged him, but afterwards, as he was
by the fire. Then "comdh one of the maids of the Chief
Priest" (Mark); "there came up to him a maid" (Matt.);
ua certain damsel" (Luke), "and beheld Peter warming
himself" (Mark). St. Mark expressly adds, " looking upon
him;" and St. Luke, "when she saw him sitting towards
the light, and earnestly gazed upon him" It is remarkable
that three Evangelists speak expressly of the fire, as if
this circumstance was intimately connected with the re-
cognition of him in that dark hall ; and their very words
imply that he became distinctly visible from that cir-
cumstance as he sat turned " towards the light V And
all the Evangelists likewise mention, on this occasion
the maid-servant, who we find was the person that had
admitted him, as if this circumstance, also, was connected
with his detection. "She said," St. Luke tells us, as if
addressing the bystanders, "This man was with Him;"
and then she says to St. Peter, "Thou also wast with
Jesus" (Matt., Mark) "the Galilean" (Matt.) "of Naza-
reth" (Mark). "Art not thou also one of this Man's dis-
ciples? He saith, I am not" (John), " Woman, I do not
know Him" (Luke); "I do not understand what thou mean-
est" (Matt., Mark); and thus "he denied" (Matt., Mark,
Luke) "Him" (Luke) "before them all" (Matt.).

But St. Peter, being now in great uneasiness and alarm,
and the more so when he had thus lost his self-possession
and conscious fidelity, would no doubt be glad to escape
from the crowd, as soon as he could do so without attract-
ing notice, and especially to retire from the glare of the fire
by which he had been detected ; and he got up "and trait.
out into the vestibule" (Mark), and while he was there, St.

2 irpbs rb (po>$.

104 THE CONDEMNATION

Mark adds, "the cock crew" But he was so absorbed in
mind with his own fears, and the fate of his Master on
this eventful night, and under circumstances so strange
and mysterious, that he probably noticed not, at the
moment, the fulfilment of his Master's declaration. " The
cock crew," says St. Chrysostom, " showing that it neither
prevented him from denying, nor recalled his promise to
his memory."

But after he had once arrested attention, his retiring
from the hall would not have lessened the suspicion, espe-
cially as the woman who had the charge of the door had
been the person to observe him. "The maid a second
time" St. Mark says, and we should suppose it means the
same maid. And also "another maid" St. Matthew says,
who combined with her in the charge, as he was going out
again remarked it, and drew attention to him. It was not
to himself that she observes it, for he had now "gone out"
or was going out, "into the porch" (Matt.), but "to tho/e
who were there" (Matt.), "the standers ty" (Mark). The
former of these women saying, " that this man also is one
of them" (Mark), and the other maid, "and this man also
was with Jesus of Nazareth" (Matt.). And probably after
he had been out (for it was "a little while after" St.
Luke says), he returned, and did not sit, as before, among
those at the fire, but, being in great uneasiness and alarm,
" stood :" "now Peter was among them standing and warm-
ing himself" (John). And St. John afterwards returning
to the narrative from which he had digressed, speaks of
this attitude, saying, "now Simon Peter was standing and
warming himself" They, therefore, to whom the damsel
that kept the door, and her companion, had perseveringly
repeated the charge, now attacked him again. They all,
according to St. John, addressed him; but as in many

THE DENIALS OF ST. PETER 105

pressing a charge, there must be one more particularly who
speaks, St. Luke mentions it in the singular number;
"And after a little while another person saw him, and
said, And thou also art one of them" (Luke). "They said
therefore to him, And art not thou also one of His dis-
ciples?" (John.) "He again" (Matt., Mark) "denied it"
(Matt, Mark, John), addressing the man who spoke,
"Man" (Luke), "lam not" (Luke, John). And St. Mat-
thew says, that he added an adjuration, "again denying,"
as if to them all together, " with an oath I know not the
Man" The discrepancies of the four Evangelists can thus
be easily reconciled on this occasion, although in the
mention of the persons who charged him, St. Matthew
says, " another maid " noticed him ; St. Mark, " the maid
seeing him again; St. Luke, " another man;" and St. John,
" they at the fire." For the two first who speak of the
women do not say that they charged him, but that they
spoke; St. Matthew says, "to those who were there;" St.
Mark, "to those who stood by" To them, therefore, the
woman appeals ; it was they therefore who, according to
St. John, spoke to St. Peter ; and as they could not all
speak at once, one of them, according to St. Luke's account,
addressed him more particularly ; to whom he replied, " O
man," in the singular number. And with regard to the
same or a different woman, as St. Matthew and St. Mark
relate it variously, it may be one and the same action of
both observing at the same time.

But not only is there no necessary contradiction, nor
even discrepancy, in the mention of the same maid, and
also of another maid, for both might be true, and even
that simultaneously ; but it should be observed that this
tends, like all the apparent discrepancies, to render tlio
account more graphic, and sets it in a more lively manner

106 THE CONDEMNATION .

before the eyes ; for we seem, in comparing the accounts,
to behold the scene, as it breaks more and more distinctly
upon us; it manifests the interest and eagerness of the
parties, the maid who kept the door, and her companion
too, with rival zeal, charging him, and then all present,
interested and excited with one movement respecting him,
while he secretly shrunk from them in trembling agitation,
and then one of them, more eager than the rest, seeing
and questioning him.

St. Augustin confirms this view, excepting that he con-
siders it to be at the house of Annas. " We find," he
says, " from St. John that it was not before the door, but
at the fire-place, that Peter denied the second time, and
therefore he had then returned ; for it was not after he had
gone out and was without, that the maid saw him ; but as
he went out, i. e. as he had risen to go out, she perceived
him, and spoke to those who were there at the fire-place in
the hall. But he, when he heard it, returned to clear
himself : or, what is more probable, he did not hear as he
was going what was said of him : and it was after he re-
turned that the maid, and that other one whom Luke
mentions, said unto him, ' Thou also art one of this Man's
disciples ;' and as the person whom Luke mentions insisted
more vehemently and said, and 'Thou also art one of
them/ Peter says to him, ' Man, I am not V " Origen also
takes it the same way, that it was not after he had gone
out, but as he was going out the second time, " not when
he was outside the door, 'without,' but wishing to go out,
though not yet having gone forth*." But St. Augustin
does not seem to think that there were two different maids
spoken of by St. Matthew and St. Mark, but that both
expressions allude to the same person. And yet the
' De Cons. Evan. lib. iii. 24. 4 Lat. Com. in Matt. 114s

THE DENIALS OF ST. PETER 107

"the maid" in St. Mark would seem to im-
ply " the same maid " he had spoken of the first time,
viz. the maid who kept the door ; whereas St. Matthew
clearly says " another maid " on this second charge.

But here it is worthy of notice, that the women intro-
duced on this occasion are the only women that are men-
tioned as taking part with the enemies of our Lord : and
oven they are not concerned in bringing about His con-
demnation, nor any further than to detect St. Peter. It is
remarkable that no woman is mentioned throughout as
speaking against our Lord in His life, or having a share in
His death. On the contrary He is anointed by a woman
for His burial, women are the last at His grave, the first at
His resurrection ; to a woman He first appeared ; women
ministered to His wants from Galilee ; women bewailed
and lamented Him ; a heathen woman interceded for His
life with her husband the governor ; and above all He was
born of a woman. So that as woman was most conspicu-
ous in the first transgression, and doomed to subjection
and pain of child-birth ; so she is not conspicuous in the
second great crime of the children of Adam. It may be
because she had more particularly to partake of suffering
and bear the Cross : and women and children were per-
haps most noticed by Christ on account of their natural
infirmity. For the same reason that the poor are the
objects of the benediction, the afflicted of the consolations
of the Gospel ; and " God hath chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the strong." Before our Lord's
birth He selected women here and there singly ; and emi-
nent types of Christ were born of women that were barren,
or beyond the natural age of child-bearing, as setting forth
our Lord's supernatural birth of a virgin, and showing
that when most weak, they were in Him most strong.

108 THE CONDEMNATION

But since His birth He has dispensed His sanctifying
afflictions and graces, not by partial choice to a few women,
the mothers of saints, who were singly to represent our
Lord's Virgin Mother : but has diffused throughout all the
sex His strength. By choosing woman for His super-
human birth, and submitting to childhood, He has drawn
women and children more especially to Himself in the en-
dearments of His Gospel, affording them the measures of His
grace, according to the measure of their infirmities and needs.
We must now endeavour to enter into the feelings of
St. Peter, and consider the situation in which he was
placed. He was necessarily in a state of great agitation
and alarm ; it was a large dark hall ; he was in the midst
of enemies ; had already been twice on the very point of
complete detection; and he could scarcely be otherwise
than conscious of what was now going on at the upper
part of the hall, although our Saviour's back was probably
turned towards him : and great must have been his con-
sternation and amazement, that He, whom he had believed
and confessed to be no less than the Son of God, was there
being shamefully entreated and spit on, and authoritatively
denounced by the Elders. Thus a cloud was coming over
his mind by the arts of the tempter. As he had now
been betrayed by the light, for on both occasions he was
close to the fire, he would naturally withdraw into the
dark parts of the hall where he could escape observation.
But it is in vain to avoid external occasions of temptation,
while the liability to fall arises from within ; and when-
ever we are ready to deny Christ, the occasion for doing
so will seldom be wanting. Nay, the very means we take
to avoid detection will be the occasions and means of de-
tecting us, as it was with St. Peter ; for He who is about
our path will make our very darkness to be light, nor is

THE DENIALS OF ST. PETER 109

there any hiding place from His power. The Master hath
not lost sight of Hi a disciple ; the sinner shall not escape
the watchfulness of his God. He who appears to have
His back turned to us, and not to notice or regard us, has
all the while His ear open to our words, and His eye within
our hearts, watching every movement of our thoughts. The
supposition that St. Peter had now retired from the light,
upprurs in itself quite natural and probable; and also serves
to explain the circumstances mentioned of the third denial ;
for as three Evangelists had before spoken of the fire, or the
light, when the Apostle was first detected, so they now con-
cur in stating that on this occasion it was his speech that
betrayed him. St. Matthew says, "A little ichile after, they
that stood by came up to Peter and said, Truly thou art
one of them, for thy speech maketh thee manifest" We
might have been at a loss to apprehend how his speech
could have afforded such strong evidence to convict him,
were it not for the words of St. Luke and St. Mark. St.
Luke says, that "after the interval of about an hour some
one else confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this man
also was with Him, for he is a Galilean:" and St. Mark,
that "a little while after, they that stood ly again said to
Peter, Of a truth thou art of them, for thou art a GaUlmiti,
and thy speech agreeth thereto." Some time had now
elapsed since the former charge had been made : St. Mat-
thew and St. Mark say, " a little while after," implying
that it was not immediately on the former occasion, but
after some time had intervened ; and St. Luke says it was
" about an hour " after. So that St. Peter was now sitting
a little removed from the immediate glare of the light, and
was beginning to feel himself safe, and becoming by de-
grees a little relieved from his apprehensions, after such an
interval of time, and was venturing perhaps to converse

110 THE CONDEMNATION

again with the bystanders ; not thinking of another mode
of recognition, which would arise from the strong dialect
of that distant province of Galilee. And St. Matthew, by
using the words, " they who stood by came up to him,"
seems to indicate that his position had been changed, and
that he had retired from that place where he had been on
the previous occasion, sitting or standing with the crowd.
St. Matthew and St. Mark here speak of their charging
him in the plural number, as if there was something of a
stir among them. But St. Luke mentions that there was
one more particularly that affirmed it, " some one else."
And St. John mentions of this person, who probably was
known to him from his acquaintance with the High Priest,
and also from his being now present at the circumstance,
that it was " a servant of the High Priest's," a relative of
him whom Peter had this very night attacked and wounded.
Or perhaps this was not the individual whom St. Luke is
speaking of, but another bystander, who hearing the com-
motion about St. Peter, and the charge made against him,
and in the twilight gazing on the accused person with a
determination to convict him, seconded and supported the
asseveration of the first ; for the account of the first two
Evangelists would lead one to suppose that certainly more
than one person was engaged in drawing notice to St. Peter.
And St. John's account is more like that of a person second-
ing the accusation of another than making it himself. " One
of the servants of the Chief Priest, being kinsman of him
whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did I not see thee in the
garden with Him?" To this St, John meekly adds, in the
gentle simplicity of his narrative, "Peter therefore again
denied" St. Luke records his words, "Peter said, Man, I
know not what thou sayest" But St. Matthew and St.
Mark record the circumstances in a manner very character-

THE DENIALS OF ST. PETER 11 1

istic indeed of St. Peter's earnest vehemence of temper, but
a lamentable instance of the growing power of guilt and
temptation, when it has once been yielded to. " Then"
(Matt.) "he began to curse and to swear" saying, " I know
not the Man" (Matt., Mark) "of whom ye speak" (Matt.).
It has been simply, but well noticed 6, " how St. Peter's de-
nial increases more and more vehemently, from his first of
all saying, I know not what thou sayest, and secondly his
denying witli an oath, and thirdly that he began to curse
and to swear that he knew not the Man. For to persevere
in sin gives increase unto crime, and he who despises least
things falls into greater."

This is the great and good St. Peter, the Chief of
Apostles, and declared by Christ Himself to be " blessed."
So very different are the same persons under different cir-
cumstances and in different companies. And perhaps the
shame, as well as the danger, of being connected with so
mean a prisoner, led him at this time quite to forget his
Master in the thoughts of himself. Independently of
other reasons why this circumstance should be so minutely
recorded at this time, one thing may have been, that it so
forcibly sets before us, as a warning, the want of steadfast-
ness which is often found even in the better sort of per-
sons, such as have much energy and zeal, which promises
great things, but have not yet attained to that steadfastness
which will enable them to perform them. For although
the account of so wonderful a change of mind, in so few
hours, seems at first almost incredible, yet, when con-
sidered in all its circumstances, it will be found an exact
picture and description of the declarations and resolutions,
which men make when alone with God at their prayers,
as contrasted with their conduct a few hours afterwards,
k Rabanus Maurus. Aur. Cat.

112 THE CONDEMNATION

when the season of temptation shall have overtaken them.
And surely it is a matter worthy of the deepest considera-
tion, that not only is so very little told us of the Saints of
God, but what is recorded is for the most part to their
prejudice. And this is the case even with regard to those
who approached most nearly to the Person of our blessed
Lord, and might be supposed to partake of the radiance
that went forth from Him. Even they are not allowed to
exalt themselves, nor glory in His presence ; nay, indeed,
were perhaps on that very account the more signally abased
before all men, that none might presume. Of our Lord
alone it is said, "The prince of this world cometh, and
hath nothing in Me6."

But yet there is much to be said in excuse for St. Peter,
which cannot be said for us, who have received the Spirit.
For, as the Fathers observe, St. Peter had not yet the
Spirit, as He was afterwards bestowed. " No one," as
Origen says, " can say that Jesus is the Lord, excepting
by the Holy Spirit 7. But the Spirit was not yet among
men, because Jesus was not yet glorified, as St. John says 8.
But we shall have no excuse if we shall deny Him, since
the Spirit of the Father is mighty to speak in us, and it is
in our power to give place to the Holy Spirit, or to the
devil V And as St. Jerome says, " Without the Spirit
Peter trembled at the voice of a maid-servant, with the
Spirit he withstood princes and kings." And St. Cyril of
Alexandria particularly dwells on this, that the Spirit was
not yet given ; and that Peter was afterwards capable of
enduring the greatest trials. But at the same time he says,
that this instance of infirmity and pardon was allowed to
happen for our consolation.

<5 John xiv. 30. * 1 Cor. xii. 3. 8 John vii. 39.

• In Matt. Lat. Com. 114.

THE DENIALS OF ST. PETER 113

Indeed, we may humbly venture to think tliat this
melancholy failure in one so eminent and favoured, was
permitted to occur, to afford us encouragement and hope
in similar derelictions and temptations. And that as our
Lord could not afford us an instance of human infirmity
in Himself, He has given it to us in the person of the
most exalted of His pastors : that all may fear, and none
may presume, and all may hope. " On this account,"
says Leo, " as it appears, he was allowed to waver that the
remedy of repentance might be laid up in a chief of the
Church, that no one should dare to trust in his own
goodness, since even the blessed Peter could not escape
the danger of mutability 10." And Theophylact says, that
our Lord " allowed him to suffer from a Providential dis-
pensation, that he might not exalt himself; and at the
same time that His own pitifulness might be shown in
one who was instructed by Himself, of the issue of human
infirmity." We may indeed consider it as one of those
emanations of exceeding compassionateness which gather
around the Cross of Christ, like the acceptance of the
penitent thief, and our Lord's prayer for His murderers.
They are like objects of mercy kneeling around the Cross
of Christ, from whose reception every sincere penitent
may find consolation unto the end of the world. The
last-mentioned writer well says, " Tears brought Peter to
Christ through repentance. Let those Novatians there-
fore be confounded who affirm that he who sins after the
reception of Baptism is not admitted for his sins to be
forgiven. For behold Peter, who had received the Body
and Blood of Christ, is admitted through repentance.
But the failings of the Saints are written on this account,
that we also, if we should have fallen through carelessness,
19 In Serin, de Pass. Dom.

1

114 THE CONDEMNATION

might have the means of retracing our steps by their
examples, and might hope through repentance to be re-
lieved." Much to the same effect is Nicetus ; " The evil,"
he says, "arose from human cowardice; and that the
disciple was condemned by his own conscience, his lamen-
tation itself would at once teach us, and the tears of his
remorse. And, when converted, he failed not of the
mark : for he continued, what he was, a genuine disciple ;
and richly obtained the remission of his offence. But
this we say, that the failings of the Saints we learn from
the Holy Scriptures themselves, that we may become
imitators of their repentance. For the mercy-loving God
hath devised repentance, as a saving remedy for those who
are on earth, which they endeavour to destroy, who say
that they are pure ; not perceiving that to have such an
estimation of themselves is replete with all uncleanness,
for, as it is written, * no one is clean from pollution.' For
let them not forget this also, that before Christ had been
taken, and Peter had denied Him, he had been partaker
of the Body of Christ, and His precious Blood, and thus
he slipped, and by repentance procured remission. Let
them therefore not accuse the calm patience of God, re-
membering how distinctly He says, ' As for the wickedness
of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby, in the day that he
turneth from his wickedness n.' "

THE LORD LOOKING ON ST. PETER

BUT though St. Peter had forgotten his Lord and

Master, his Lord had not forgotten him. For we read

that "immediately" (Matt., Luke, John), "while he was

11 Ezek. xxxiii. 12.

THE LORD LOOKING ON ST. PETER 115

yet rpedfdng " (Luke) in this strong manner, " the cock
crew " (Matt., Mark, Liike, John) " a second time " (Mark).
'And " at the sound, " the Lord turned and looked on
Pete)' " (Luke). Although Peter had secluded himself in
the dark, and thought that as he sat there no eye beheld
him, yet there was One in the light to whom his eyes
could not hut unconsciously turn; Who in His Divine
Spirit and affectionate care still saw and heard him, though
afar off : and Whom, as He stood in the light at the upper
end of the hall, a prisoner bound and beaten among His
enemies, Peter, as he sat below, could not but distinctly
behold, though at a distance. What was expressed in
that look of our blessed Saviour, thought of man cannot
conceive, and words cannot utter. That it spoke of all
that had passed in our Lord's long intimacy with St.
Peter, and especially the conversation of that night, and
that it derived a peculiar force and meaning from the
indignities which our Lord was suffering; and that at
such a time His own favoured disciple should deny Him ;
that it seemed to say to him, "all this ignominy and
oppression I could have endured, and do endure in silent
patience, but this hath grieved Me more than they :" that
it implied something of this we may well suppose, but
what more we cannot tell. The conciseness and sublimity
with which it is mentioned, resembles the account in
Genesis of His Word being spoken, at which the world
was created. The Lord looked — the spell of Satan was
dissolved. The Lord looked — and he wept bitterly. The
Lord looked — and the darkness of death was fled, and
light filled his mind. The thought of our Lord's Divinity,
which he had believed, but had forgotten, now rushed
afresh on St. Peter's mind. " And Peter remembereil tin;
u-ord" (.Malt., Mark, Luko) "off fie Lord" (Luke), "which

i 2

116 THE CONDEMNATION

Jesus had spoken unto him" (Matt, Mark), "how He zaid
unto him " (Luke), " Before the cock crow tlwu shalt deny
Me thrice " (Matt., Mark, Luke). " And Peter " (Luke)
immediately rose up and " went out " (Matt., Luke), " and
when he thought thereon" (Mark), "he wept" (Matt., Mark,
Luke) "Utterly" (Matt., Luke). In the darkness and
silence of the night his eyes were opened to all that had
passed, and "he wept bitterly." They were partly per-
haps human tears, for having deserted the Friend he
loved j and partly those of a still deeper remorse for having
offended his God. Here is the beginning of repentance
as a pattern to us all, and to be continually renewed ; to
behold Christ's eye upon us, to retire from the occasions
of sin, in solitude and stillness of night, to weep, and to
think over and remember Christ's words. It is reported,
though I know not on what authority, but said to be that
of Clemens Romanus, that St. Peter so deeply repented,
that all his life long, whenever he heard the cock crow, he
fell on his knees and wept, and prayed for pardon.

The Lord looked on Peter, and he repented : herein is
showed that man, even in his best estate, is altogether
vanity, that none doeth good, no, not one ; for Satan had
desired to have them all, and he had gotten the chief of
Apostles into his net, and was weaving his meshes more
and more around his victim : as far as human nature went,
he was utterly overtaken and fallen. " But I have pr.ayed
for thee," said our Lord ; and this His prayer broke the
bonds of the enemy, and let the captive go free. It was
that prayer of Christ, and the efficacy of that prayer,
which was shown in this look. It was not Peter, but the
look and prayer of Christ which overcame. It was not
their own arm that helped them, " but the light of Thy
countenance, because Thou hadst a favour unto them."

THE LORD LOOKING ON ST. PETEK 117

" And Peter remembered the word of the Lord." Here
we have a strong instance of the purpose of prophecy, that
it is not for us to notice the fulfilment of it beforehand,
but that when it is fulfilled it may be to us an indication
and assurance of God — when the cock crew, then the Lord
turned and looked on Peter ; — when it comes to pass, then
we notice the eye and the hand of God.

The Lord's turning and looking on St. Peter, upon the
perpetration of his crime, is also analogous to His usual
dealings with mankind. Inasmuch as He is the " Light
that lighteth every one," this might be expected : it is not
under the influence of temptation, of passion, or fear, but
when the evil is done, that the eye of God breaks upon
the soul. Not only with the wicked but with good men
this is the case : their want of faith then appears when
they have denied their Lord, and this it is that recalls
them to God and themselves : whether it is the eye of
Christ, or His supporting hand, which in like manner, on
another occasion when Peter began to sink, seized hold of
and supported him, saying, " 0 thou of little faith, where-
fore didst thou doubt ? " Often, too, thus it is in some
trifling external circumstance that we see Christ's eye upon
us, and repent. The Lord could now no more speak to
him by His encouraging and divinely consoling voice as
He had done in the garden, but " His look," as St. Chry-
sostom says, "• was now instead of His voice :" — thus ever,
in His mindful and watchful compassion, does He find
some way to speak to us. At one time His voice, at
another His look, at another His hand, supports His
failing Church, when slumbering in temptation, or sore
beset by her foes, or walking on the sea of danger. Happy
he who is recalled to Christ, and to himself, and imme-
diately retires from Hi.' world to weep and pray,

118 THE CONDEMNATION

Here moreover, in the case of St. Peter, we have H
remarkable instance of what Scripture mentions, a state
of mind in which the ears cannot hear, nor the heart
understand. For the memory of our Lord's prediction
seems quite to have passed from St. Peter's mind, nor did
he notice the cock-crowing which he heard. The light
within him had for a time become darkened. It was the
hour of darkness in more senses than one : the powers of
darkness -were let loose, and like clouds they had obscured
his soul, till the countenance of our Lord, like the sun,
dissipated those clouds, or made them to fall in tears of
repentance, and the light was again rekindled within him.

"Behold," says St. Austin, "the prediction of the
Physician is fulfilled, the presumption of the sick man
convicted. It is not as he said, I will lay down my life
for Thee • but it is as the other had foretold, Thou shalt
deny Me thrice." "Admire," says St. Chrysostom, "the
care of the Master, in that when He was bound, He was
so mindful of His disciple, and by beckoning to him
brought him to tears." " For Him to look," says Bede,
" is to have pity, for the mercy of God is not only neces-
sary upon repentance, but in order that repentance may
take place." "But his tears," adds St. Chrysostom,
"were not on account of himself, but because he had
denied Him whom he loved, which to him was more
painful than any punishment." " Happy, 0 holy Apostle,"
exclaims St. Leo, " were thy tears, which had the power
of holy Baptism to wash away the guilt of thy denial.
For the right hand of the Lord Jesus Christ was present
with thee, which checked thee in falling before thou wast
deceived, and in the very crisis of thy fall thou receivedst
firmness to stand. Soon therefore did Peter return to his
stability as one receiving courage, that he who had been

THE COCK-CROWING 119

BO terrified then in the time of Christ's passion, in his own
RI Hi- ri 1 1 |^s hereafter might not fear, but steadfastly endure12."
Ami St. Ambrose, "Blessed the tears which wash away
guilt ! They at length mourn on whom Jesus looks.
Peter denied the first time, and wept not, because the
Lord looked not on him. He denied a second time, and
wept not, for as yet the Lord had not looked on him. He
denied also a third time, Jesus looked on him, and he wept
most bitterly. Lord Jesu, look on us, that we may know
how to weep for our sin, and wash out the guilt ! Hence also
the failing of the Saints is profitable. The denial of Peter
hath not at all injured me : his repentance hath profited me1/'
" 0 Jesus, look upon me with the same eye of com-
passion, whenever I shall do amiss, that I may see my
fault, and forthwith return to my duty : — let this instance
of Thy mercy be our comfort, since so great and repeated
a crime did not exclude this penitent from Thy mercy ;
but let not this make us fearless of offending Thee, lest we
never repent V

THE COCK-CROWING

BUT in the circumstances of the cock-crowing there is
another remarkable discrepancy in the accounts. St.
Mark mentions that after the first denial, "the cock
crew," and after the third time, that "the cock crew
twice," or a second tune; and that this had been the
• •xpression of our Lord, " Before the cock crow twice, thou
shalt deny Me thrice." Whereas St. Matthew and St.
Luke both say, "Before the cock crow thou shalt
deny Me thrice." We must reverently suppose that
both statements were made by our Lord, and that one
18 Semi, de Pass. » Exp. in Luc. x. 89. * Hp. Wilson.

120 THE CONDEMNATION

referred to that watch of the night which was usually
known by the name of "the cock-crowing," such as St.
Mark speaks of on another occasion when he mentions the
foul watches of the night 8, which comprehends the space
of time from twelve o'clock till three ; and the expression
might have referred more particularly to the more distinct
crowing of the cock, which takes place at about three
o'clock. It appears to be usual for the cock to crow,
repeatedly and consecutively, at one period of the night,
and then to be silent, till another period ensues, when it
crows again in a different and more distinct manner. And
this circumstance will explain the expression of St. Mark,
as applying to the natural crowing of the cock at these two
periods, rather than to the civil term of " the cock-crow-
ing," and that which was more distinctly and decidedly
the crowing of the cock at the later hour of the morning.
This particularity partakes of the characteristic minuteness
and accuracy of detail in St. Mark ; and as the companion
of St. Peter, and writing from him, he mentions more
particularly the actual crowing of the cock : " It is his
own disciple St. Mark," St. Chrysostom says, "that men-
tions this aggravating circumstance, that already after one
denial he received this gracious warning in vain." Pro-
bably, on reverting in memory to the whole transaction,
St. Peter remembered that the cock did crow after the
first denial ; and that on recollection it occurred to him,
that our Lord had used that very expression on the preced-
ing evening, " Before the cock crow twice." He ventures
therefore on botli occasions to differ from St. Matthew, in
order to record the very minuteness of the prediction and
its fulfilment ; but neither of these occasions of the cock-
crowing seems to have arrested his attention till our Lord
• Mark xiii. 35.

THE COCK-CROWING 12!

looked oil him : as we may have often occasion 10 observe,
that St. Mark mentions circumstances disparaging to St.
Peter, or such as would to St. Peter's own mind have
been remembered as aggravating, and for which he severely
judged himself; "for if we judge ourselves, we shall not
be judged of the Lord." Thus we had occasion to remark
that he speaks of the appeal being made more particularly
to St. Peter on this night, " Simon, sleepest thou ? couldest
thou not have watched one hour ?" and here he only men-
tions " when he thought thereon he wept " (or, as St.
Augustin translates it, " he began to weep •" as others
render it, " he covered his face and wept "), and does not
add as the other Evangelists record, "he went out and
wept bitterly." As judging himself he dwells most strongly
on his warnings, least strongly on his temptations, and
lessens the account of his repentance. But it is his friend
St. John, who seems to mention most what may lessen
the fault of bis brother Apostle and companion : he simply
states on each occasion, that he denied, as marking the
fulfilment of his Lord's prediction, but says nothing of his
protestations or oaths : and he mentions all the company
that was there, " servants and officers," and speaks in the
plural number of their accusing, and not as St. Mark
" another maid ;" and on the last occasion, he mentions
that one of the accusers was a kinsman of that very
Malchus whom he had wounded, as showing how very
sorely his friend was tried by those who must have been
his most formidable enemies4. It may further be observed,
that the account which St. Luke gives of our Lord looking
on St. Peter, is highly characteristic of St. Luke, writing
of our merciful High Priest whose compassions fail not }
and in other respects it is a circumstance which lie, who
4 See Plain Sermons, vol. ii. p. 290. Serm. Ixxi.

122 THE CONDEMNATION

was accounted a painter, would delight to record for its
exquisitely touching beauty. For our Lord's looking on
St. Peter, of itself, speaks to the heart more than volumes
of teaching.

But still one is led to think, that we know very little
of the reasons why this account of St. Peter's previous
assurance, his subsequent temptation, and his fall, should
be so particularly dwelt upon by all the Evangelists : it
seems as if there might be contained in it some great prin-
ciple or prophetic history, and perhaps both : some great
principle to be developed in the future history of the
Church, or of St. Peter's Church ; and one is the more
inclined to think so from St. John, the Evangelist of
divine and mysterious wisdom, thinking it necessary to
give a detailed account of it, in addition to the other
Evangelists, who had so fully recorded it before.

The cock which was thus introduced into the most
momentous and memorable scene, has not been forgotten
by the Fathers : nor the sacred part which was assigned
to that bird in this transaction. It has been treasured by
them in affectionate memory, and considered the watch-
bird of piety, recalling seasons of devotion and repentance.
"Who is the cock, the bird of light," says St. Jerome,
" but the Holy Spirit, by Whose voice in Prophecy and
in Apostles, we from our threefold denial are aroused to
most bitter weeping after falling ; for having thought evil
of God, and spoken evil to our neighbours, and done evil
to ourselves V And St. Ambrose in his account of this
bird, in his work on the Six days of Creation, dwells on
the present history : and also in his beautiful Hymn on
the crowing of the cock, —

" The Church, our Eock, the warning hears,
Again to wash her fault with tears."

THE COCK-CROWING 123

._ •

And afterwards, —

" The slumbering soul his larums ohide,
The cook reproves him that denied.

" Jesu, look on us when we fall,
And by Thy look to Thee recall ;
Strength at Thy look returns again,
And tears wash out the guilty stain."

And Prudentius has a long Hymn on the same subject,
with similar spiritual applications : —

" The voice of birds, that singing stand

Beneath our roof at morn,
Prefigures our great Judge at hand,
And Day-spring onward bome."

And again, —

" 'Tis said that Satan's evil flock,
Which wander forth at night,
Start at the crowing of the cock,
And vanish with affright.

" The power of this the warning bird
Is shown in Christ's own word :
' Thrice, Peter, ere the cock is heard,
Shalt thou deny thy Lord.'

" For sin is pass'd with shades of night,

And standing by the door,
The herald of approaching Light
Doth bid us sin no more."

Our venerable Bede, too, after the same mode of inter-
pretation, says, " I think this cock is to be mystically un-
derstood as some one of the doctors, who chides those that
arc lying down and asleep, by saying, * Awake to righte-
ousness, and sin not.' " And probably the allusion comes
tli rough Origen : " Perhaps all men," he says, " when they
Jesus, so that their denial of Him is capable of

124 THE CONDEMNATION

•

medicine, seem to deny Him before the crowing of the
cock, before the Sun of Righteousness hath as yet risen, or
His rising hath drawn near unto them. But after the
rising of this Sun hath taken place in our minds, — if we
shall have sinned willingly, after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there is now left no more sacrifice
for sin, but terrible judgment, and a consuming fire, which
shall destroy the adversaries 6." In a word, the cock seems
to represent the external warning, whatever it may be,
that comes to us in God's Providence. This we learn is of
no avail till Christ turns on us the light of His counte-
nance, and then His Holy Spirit from within also gives
ears to hear, and a heart to understand; and when He
thus gives us spiritual ears to hear, we perceive that the
warning voice from without was no other than His own
gracious call; His call from without and His call from
within respond to one another ; and all is His, — it is His
work : " Be still, and know that I am God."

OUR LORD BEFORE CAIAPHAS

IN the mean while, or rather before these circumstances
had occurred with regard to St. Peter, Christ was stand-
ing before the High Priest. While those who belonged to
the Council, and were to take part with Caiaphas in this
business, were assembling, or sent for to assemble, he him-
self proceeded at once to question the Lord. " The High
Priest therefore questioned Jesus concerning His disciples,
and concerning His doctrine " (John). He did this in his
judicial character apparently, as if to learn and ascertain
the truth • but as he had already determined, from motives
5 Comm. in Matt. 114.

OUR LORD BEFORE CAIAPHAS 125

of popular expediency, that our Lord should die, he could
of course, in these inquiries, have had no intention of
KM ruing anything; they must have been either for the
purpose of ensnaring Christ by some admission that he
might take hold of, or else have been merely carried on
out of a certain show of justice. Our Lord, wishing per-
haps quietly to show him the self-deceit and hypocrisy of
such conduct, reminds him, as He had done before those
who came to take Him (which the other three Evangelists
record), that the very mode of His teaching would not
allow of such a construction, as that He had taught any
thing that would be disloyal, or injurious, to the Jewish
religion, or the Koman state ; that He had ever spoken
openly to the world. St. Chrysostom says, " as they could
bring no charge against Him, therefore they asked Him
concerning His disciples, perhaps, who they were, or for
what reason He had collected them ; and this with the
desire of convicting Him as a seditious person, and one
having revolutionary designs, and as if none but His dis-
ciples attended to Him6." And then they proceeded to
question Him concerning His doctrine, wishing to convict
Him of teaching against the Law of Moses, and so to con-
demn Him of blasphemy; or else of sedition, so as to
give Him up to the Koman Governor. But to this our
Lord answers, with Divine wisdom, "in such a manner as
not to appear wanting in the defence of the truth," says
Theophylact, " and yet at the same time not as desiring
to defend Himself." " Jesus answered him, I spake openly
to the world ; I ever taught in the Synagogue and in the
Temple, whither the Jews always resort, and in secret have
•I nothing" (John). The places of His teaching were
those most publicly frequented, for they were the Syna-
8 In Joan. Horn. Ixxxiii. 3.

126 THE CONDEMNATION

gogues in the country villages and the Temple at Jeru-
salem ; and He had said nothing in secret, i.e. nothing of
a secret, insidious character. His mode of expounding
mysteries to His disciples, as a religious rule of distinction,
was of course nothing to the world, — nothing that it
alluded to or understood. " A question has arisen," says
St. Augustin, " how He spake openly to the world, if even
to the disciples themselves He did not speak openly, but
promised them a time when He would speak openly ; and,
moreover, to the disciples themselves He spake much more
plainly when He was with them removed from the crowds,
when He opened the parables which He brought forth
unexplained to the multitude. But by His saying that
He taught openly to the world, He meant that many heard
Him, for no one teaches in secret who teaches before so
many: and even that which was of a secret character,
which was taught to the disciples, was hereafter, through
them, to be made known to the world." And St. Chry-
sostom, also, " He spoke indeed in secret, but not in the
manner that they intended, as one in fear and causing
sedition, but where the things that He spake were above
the comprehension of the many. But wishing abundantly
to bring forward testimony worthy of credit, He appeals
to those who heard Him, even to His enemies who were
lying in wait for Him. For this is an incontestable de-
monstration of truth, when a person adduces his enemies
as witnesses." But, what is very wonderful to observe,
our Lord's words themselves are still replete with myste-
rious wisdom, and mark the Son of God. For His very
expression is taken from the Prophet, where He Himself,
Who made the worlds, deigns in unspeakable condescen-
sion to speak His own defence, and declare His own cause
before the Jews : " Thus saith the Lord that created the

OUR LORD BEFORE CAIAPHAS 127

Heavens, God Himself that formed the earth — I have not
spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth : I said not
unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye Me in vain : I the Lord
speak righteously. I declare things that are right V
Wonderful mystery ! surely it is God Himself, now speak-
ing before them in the very words by which He pleaded
His cause to them of old. But they knew it not.

To these inquiries thus put to Him by the High Priest,
lie AVUS as it were bound to answer, from the same meek-
ness which led Him afterwards to be silent ; for otherwise
it might have appeared an ungracious sullenness. And to
( 1niuphas's repeated inquiries He replies, that those persons
who had openly heard Him might testify : there could be
no difficulty in the matter, if He really were suspected of
any dangerous teaching. " Why askest thou Me ? ask those
who heard Me wliat I said unto them. Behold, they know
what I said" (John). Thus were His words graciously
calculated, like all others which He spake on this night, to
show to His enemies their own selves, their own wicked
purposes, in case they should not be too hardened to
learn ; they were indeed replete with truth, wisdom, and
charity. But as, nevertheless, however wisely and meekly
intended, they could not but have the effect, as before,
when He spake in the Temple, of showing His great
superiority to His adversaries, and putting them to silence ;
as not a word could He utter, but from the secret weight
of ineffable holiness and purity, it must have been such
that authority must stand abashed and confounded before
Him : — " When He had said these things, one of the
attendants of the High Priest" feeling for the shame with
vhich our Lord's words must overwhelm his master, " as
he stood by, struck Jesvs loith the palm of his hand,
^ Isa. xlv. 18, 19.

128 THE CONDEMNATION

saying, Answer est Thou the High Priest so?" (John)
It has been reported that this servant was that very
Malchus whose ear our Lord had restored this very night,
and that he was an Idumean slave 8. And certainly it is
not improbable that the first of that band in violence
should be one of the chief attendants about the person of
the High Priest. But as our Lord's silent acquiescence
in this blow would have given the impression that He had
indeed acted wrongly, that the substance of what He said,
or His manner of speaking to the High Priest, had merited
the blow, He therefore expostulates with the man who
strikes Him. " Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil,
bear witness of the evil, but if well, why smitest thou Me ?"
(John.) And this wanton blow was the more cruel and
unjustifiable, as He was already, the Evangelist observes,
in bonds at the time. " Now Annas had sent Him bound
to Caiaphas the High Priest" (John). And here again,
in the causeless outrage of this servant, there is a fresh
subject for wonder and adoration at the unfailing testimony
of Scripture ; for as our Lord's words were mysteriously
a secret appeal to the Prophet's testimony, when He had
before spoken to them to the same effect, pleading His cause
as God ; so now also the wanton action of this servant is
but fulfilling the Divine word, according to the prophetic
declaration, " I gave My back to the smiters, and My
cheek to them that plucked off the hair*." And as every
thing respecting our Divine Lord is the fulfilment of fore-
going prophecy, so also every action of His is the fulfil-
ment of His own precepts : not indeed in the letter, but
in that manner in which He would have us to fulfil them,

3 See Bp. Taylor's Life of Christ, who quotes from Vida the
iiuo, — "Malchus Idumaeis missus captivus ab oris."
• Isa. 1. 6. Lam. iii. 30.

OUR LORD BEFORE CAIAPHAS 129

in the spirit. For hypocrisy often fulfils the command-
ment in the letter, but true love only in the spirit and
intention ; and our Lord now was in the highest degree
acting up to the principle of His own command, to offer
the other cheek unto him that smites 10.

St. Augustin remarks of this conduct of our Lord, that
it wus ;i comment upon His own great precept of patience ;
u si towing, as it was necessary to be shown, that those
commands were to be kept, not by bodily display, but by
a preparation of the heart. For ostensibly an angry man
might offer the other cheek. How much better does the
truly meek man answer to the truth, while in mind pre-
pared to bear heavier things ! By His true, and gentle,
and just answer, not only did He offer the other cheek to
tin- s miter, but prepare His whole body to be transfixed
on the Cross "." And indeed His gentle answer was more
difficult to true patience, than it would have been literally
to have turned the other cheek; and it was also more
kind. Surely no other than the highest love could li,i\.-
dictated our Lord's conduct to this man, for whom He was
desirous to die. As St. Augustin observes, " He that
made the world by a word of His mouth, could, if He
had wished, have overwhelmed him with lightning from
Heaven, or earthquake from below, or have given him
over to the power of evil spirits, or to any punishment
worse than these." And we indeed, under the feelings of
our nature, " when we consider who He was who received
the Mow, could have wished," says St. Austin, "that the
m in iiiiiiht have been thus punished. But, instead of so
d«iiii'_r, He preferred to teach us that patience by which the
world is overcome." St. Cyril of Alexandria in like

10 Luke vi. 29. n In Joan. Tract, cxiii.

K

130 THE CONDEMNATION

manner speaks of this action of our Lord's * : " We may
observe what an incomparable and transcendent image
of the most perfect patience the Saviour hath pour-
trayed to us in these things ; and in what relates to Him
self, has delineated the most exalted form of meekness.
For being able to destroy all the Jews utterly by one only
nod, He is smitten like a slave, nor does He avenge Him-
self. Being not like us, of a weak mind, or tyrannized
over by anger or pain, or overcome by the weight of
ambition, He meekly reproves His assailant, saying that
he ought not to strike Him who had done no wrong.
The Lord Jesus Christ, though He is the true God, the
Lord of earth and heaven, endures to be smitten on the
cheek. But we wretched men, who are but dust and
ashes, mean and poor, who are likened unto the grass of
the field, and to the flower, if any of our brethren fail in
a word against us, are embittered against him, like dragons ;
nor look to the Author and Founder of our faith, even
Jesus ; — who being Lord of all, hath set before us such a
pattern of inexpressible patience, and for this cause hath
said unto us, ' The disciple is not above his master, nor
the servant above his Lord.' "

But these words of the blessed Jesus were not only
calculated to be to us, to the end of the world, our wisdom
and our hope ; but such also as were best suited both to
bring this man to a better mind, and to convey the highest
instruction and warning to the High Priest, and to all
that were concerned with him in this wicked transaction.
For if there really was any evil, or any cause of death,
let the testimony be brought, and, if guilt is found, let
the guilty be condemned ; but if not, why should He be
stricken ? Throughout it may be observed that He appeals
1 Comm. in Joan. lib. xi. 13.

OUR LORD BEFORE CAIAPffAS 131

to them all, as the witnesses of His innocence. This
srnns to be implied in every expression that our Lord had
spoken, first of all to those who came to take Him, " I
eat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no
hands upon Me;" and secondly, "Ask those who heard
Me what I said unto them ;" and now, " If I have done
evil, bear witness of the evil." This .appeal too may have
some secret reference to the Day of Judgment, when all
shall be made to declare the righteousness of God, and
every mouth shall be stopped and found guilty before God.
And, beside this ulterior and final import, we may AM -11
suppose that such words of our Lord are full of deep
intent and application, respecting Himself and His triue
followers in all ages. It is, He has expressly declared,
essential to those who truly follow Him, that they should
he hated by the world : it is intimated, that they shall
liavr all manner of evil spoken of them falsely for His
sake. For this hatred of the good shows itself most espe-
cially in calumnious falsehoods and misrepresentations.
This was the case even among the heathens, as Socrates
said at his trial, that he should have nothing to apprehend
from distinct testimony brought against him, but that it
was impos?ible for him to do away with the weight of
those calumnies, which were propagated falsely against
him. It was in a similar mode of appeal that the Apostle
St. Paul says, they cannot " prove the things whereof they
now accuse me." " If I have done any thing worthy of
death, I refuse not to die." This has been the declaration
of martyrs of all ages, and of suffering Christians, " If I
have done evil, bear witness of the evil, but if well, why
smitest thou Me]" But in a sense infinitely higher than
to any of sinful mankind, was testimony now called to
the perfect innocence of Christ. In unspeakable condc-
K 2

132 THE CONDEMNATION

scension He comes down from the throne of His judgment,
to be judged by His creatures, saying, " 0 my people,
what have I done unto thco ? and wherein have I wearied
thee? testify against Me2." "What iniquity have your
fathers found in Me 8 ?" But as His Prophets had declared
Him spotless, so do His enemies. Pilate the judge de-
clared, " I find no fault in this Man." To all wicked men
and wicked spirits Christ says, " Which of you convinceth
Me of sin?" and " If I have done evil, bear witness of
the evil :" but even the devil had already confessed Him
to be "the Holy One of God."

0 gracious and Divine Saviour, write this Thy adorable
pattern of meekness in the hearts of us all, who are the
least and the lowest of Thy servants, who are not meet to
be called Thy servants, or in any sense Thine; for we
have done very wickedly, and in the worst evils that can
befall us, we receive but the due reward of our deeds, but
Thou hast done nothing amiss. So deeply engrave this
lesson in us, that " when we judge " our brethren we may
" carefully think of Thy goodness ; and when we our-
selves are judged, we may look for mercy V

THE FALSE WITNESSES

AND now " the Chief Priests " (Matt., Mark) " and the
Elders" (Matt.) "and the whole council" (Matt., Mark)
were collecting with the High Priest. In the eye of
Holy Scripture " they were gathered together against the
Lord and His Christ — For to do whatsoever Thy hand
and Thy counsel determined before to be done 6 :" For

* Mcah vi. 3. s Jer. ii. 6. * Wisd. xii. 22.

• Acta iv. 26. 28.

THE FALSE WITNESSES 133

God had regulated all things, even to the very ordering
and appointing of every circumstance as it arose. But as
it appeared to human eyes, they were doing as they did
afterwards in the case of St. Stephen; they "were seekiny
fa/ftf." (Matt.) "witness against Jesus" (Matt., Mark) in
order to execute what they had already resolved to do, viz.
" to put Him to death" (Matt., Mark). It is called false
witness; for that is false testimony which gives a false
sense, drift, or colouring even to the words that were truly
used in another sense ; and much more when the words
themselves are slightly perverted, as in this case, to effect
that purpose. And in thus seeking false witness, they
were doing as they ever did with the words of God, laying
hold of the letter, and slightly perverting it in order to
compass evil ; in this manner did they deprive parents of
their due, and devour widows' houses, and fast in order to
smite with the fist of wickedness. We have no mention
of what these charges generally were, but that they refuted
each other, and their testimony agreed not with itself:
although many came forward, yet they could substantiate
no charge: "And they found none. And though many
false witnesses came, yet they found none " (Matt., Mark).
"For their testimonies did not agree together" (Mark),
" until afterwards two false witnesses came foncard "
(Matt.) ; " certain pei'sons rose up and bore witness against
Him, saying, We ourselves have heard Him " (Mark). The
accusation was one which it was very natural for them to
bring, for it was founded on a slight alteration of words
which were really spoken; and it was on the .subject of
the Temple, that charge which of all others they thought
the most serious, as appears in the case of St. Stephen
and St. Paul. And this they did, although the Prophet
had expressly warned them against a religion which con-

134 THE CONDEMNATION

sisted ill the cry of " The temple of the Lord, the temple
of the Lord V But although this charge was, humanly
speaking, so natural, yet it was of all others the most
singular and astonishing, as showing at this time the
mighty power and superintendence of God, Who, even in
their tumult and rage against Him, had His "hook in
their nose and His bridle in their lips 7," and made them,
like the wicked Balaam of old, to prophesy to themselves
and others His own great purposes. Our Lord had uttered
the prediction, on which their charge was founded, three
years before, on His first taking upon Him at that Pass-
over His public teaching and authority. It was the great
object of His coming into the world; that one thing,
which He wished most deeply to fix in their minds. But
how was this to be done ? the prediction had been spoken
long since, and might have been forgotten. As their
wickedness would fulfil the deed in destroying Him, so
their falsehood and malice in the very act of so doing
would bring out the prophecy, and write it up as in fiery
characters on the wall, so that he who runs may read it.
Even running in the haste of their passion, with feet swift
to shed blood, their eyes might be arrested by the words
of His accusation, written up by themselves, while they
were fulfilling it according to His word. Not only in the
good deeds of the righteous, but even in the wickedness
of the unrighteous, is God's hand awfully present : in
heaven He is present in mercy, in hell He is present in
judgment : If I go down to hell, says the Psalmist, Thou
art there also. They had indeed now gone to hell in their
wickedness; but in their darkness was His light seen, and
even there also did His hand lead them, and His right
hand held them. Not the good only, but the wicked also
1 ,)ei . vii. 4. 7 Isa. xxxvii. 29.

THE FALSE WITNESSES 135

shall confess Him and do Him honour. Not only " fruitful
trees and all cedars," but the bramble also and the thistle
bear the marks of His hand. " Beasts of the forest also,"
" the lion roaring after his prey," these all wait upon God,
and fulfil the voice of His word. Not only do Saints
bow before Him, and Angels bear Htm in their hands,
but He shall " go upon the lion and adder, the young lion
and the dragon shall He tread under His feet." Good and
evil shall both work His inscrutable counsels.

And now they might have brought some other charge,
like that of His breaking the Sabbath, and the like : but
if there was any prophecy which we may suppose our
Lord would have wished to bring forward, and fix on the
attention of these deluded Jews at this time, it was the
very one which He and they too were now in the act of
fulfilling. Nor is this all; but by the very alteration
which they made in our Lord's expression, in order to
substantiate their false accusation, they used words which
were true in a higher sense, and divinely significant ; they
gave utterance to a great truth, which our Lord was espe-
cially desirous to teach them with regard to these events,
Their falsehood became Divine truth, and their wickedness
was but subservient to God's glory. So inconceivably
mysterious and gracious are God's ways, as much surpass-
ing ours, according to His own declaration, as Heaven is
above earth. Even the "cloud" of man's transgression
is made " bright " by His light, and " is turned round
about by His counsels : that they may do whatsoever He
commandeth them upon the face of the world." "There-
fore am I troubled at His presence ; when I consider, I
am afraid of Him8."

For the case was in fact this, that our Lord had said
8 Job xxivii. 12, and xxiii. 15.

136 THE CONDEMNATION

three years before, " Destroy ye," or " Ye shall destroy
this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up." But
in order to suit their own purposes, they alter, and give a
false colouring to these words, as if our Lord had declared
that He was able to destroy it, or would destroy it. Their
charge was, " This fellow said, I am able to destroy the
Temple of God and to build it in three days" (Matt.) ; or
as St. Mark says, perhaps recording the still more remark-
able words of the other false witness, " We heard Him
say, I will destroy this Temple made with hands, and in
three days I will build another made ivithout hands"
(Mark). Our Lord's own words had been different ; He
had prophesied of their conduct, and what they were now
bent on doing. But this expression of theirs sets forth
that very thing, which He was so desirous to instil into
them, of which He had so often reminded His disciples.
He said to these very Jews, as Joseph, His type, had said
before, in charity to his brethren, that it was not they but
the overruling Hand of God. " Be not grieved, nor angry
with yourselves, that ye sold me hither ; for God did send
me to preserve life." For though indeed they were guilty
of His death, and it is often spoken of as their doing, yet
throughout it is also often spoken of as not being their
doing, but the gracious will of Christ Himself. Like the
concave and convex of a circle, in itself one and the same
line, so the same act is their voluntary wickedness and
Christ's voluntary suffering. Thus it is said indeed that
Judas delivered up our Lord to the Jews ; and the Jews
delivered Him up to the Gentiles ; and the Gentiles de-
livered Him up to be crucified. And yet it is said in
another sense, that God delivered Him up for us all : that
He delivered up Himself as a ransom for many. This was
the great truth, which their own words unconsciously and

THE FALSE WITNESSES 137

unwillingly tosiifi<><l, that, although they took away His
I they thought, yet it was He who was their willing
viclini. " I have power to lay it down, and I have power
to take it again." " No man taketh it from Me." Thus
one false witness bears testimony to His power, " I am
alle to destroy, and I am able to rebuild." And the other
false witness, in his falsehood bears witness to His will, " I
//•/// destroy." This was the great truth that His actions
and His words were intended to teach them, and this He
now speaks by the voice of their own witnesses. This
great work was God's work, though men and evil spirits
were the agents : "all men shall say, This hath God done,
for they shall perceive that it is His work." They were
now destroying that Temple, as He had said they should
do ; but while they were doing it, the very words out of
their own mouth declared that it was God and Christ that
gave them licence. " Shall there be evil in a city, and the
Lord hath not done it"?"

Nor is this all, for there is also something very remark-
able in the addition, which is made to the words by one
of the false witnesses. Whether our Lord had used the
expression, although the Evangelist has not recorded it, or
that it was merely the invention of the false witnesses, it
is equally replete with a Divine import. For the false
witness in St. Mark says, that our Lord stated that the
temple He should destroy was "made with hands," and
the one He would build was " not made Avith hands."
Now in whatever way AVC explain our Lord's prediction
which he alluded to, for it seems to be capable of more
than one interpretation, yet these words seem strongly to
il>o the fulfilment of it, in whatever sense it was
fulfilled. For the words, " made with hands," seem to
9 Amos iii. 6.

138 THE CONDEMNATION

describe most fully our Lord's natural Body, which was
made of the earth earthy. As it was said in the beginning,
of Adam, that " God formed him of the dust of the
ground10." And the words, "not made with hands," de-
scribe that spiritual Body, with which He arose from the
dead, and which was Heavenly. For the Second Man is
" the Lord from Heaven." The words also, as they now
used them, describe in the same closeness of signification
that Jewish Temple, which these disobedient Jews, and
our Saviour, in His just judgment, was on the point of
destroying, which was " made with hands :" and that
Christian temple which our Lord was now about to re-
establish in its place, and which had been described by
Daniel, as the stone cut out of the mountain " without
hands n ;" and which St. Paul speaks of as the " house
not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens ia." Thus
indeed the temple they destroyed was His own Body, for
it needs must become a sacrifice for sin ; but this Body
He will raise again, and will raise His Church, and estab-
lish a glorious temple, " not made with hands 12 ;" His own
spiritual Body, His Church, which by His resurrection He
will build up : by anticipation on earth, for in Him we
are already risen again ; and in fulness on the last day, for
He is the Resurrection.

But even still in this charge, although it was founded
on a fact, yet there was a discrepancy in their statements ;
" not even thus" says St. Mark, " did their testimony agree
together" For indeed were it only this, that one said, " I
am able to destroy," and the other, " I will destroy," in
such a case, " I am able," and " I will destroy," were,
humanly speaking, important differences ; though, in a
Divine sense, both mysteriously true. Thus, " Though
»• Gen. u. 7. 1! Dan. ii. 45, 13 2 Cor. v. 1.

THE ADJURATION OF THE CHIEF PRIEST 139

many false loitnesses came, yet found they none " (Matt.).
For so iyas it divinely ordered, that all things should de-
clare Him innocent ; that " He had done no wrong, neither
was guile found in His mouth V " Many, and bad, and
crafty as they were," says Origen, "they could find no
likelihood of fault in Him ; so blamelessly had He spoken
and done all things V In another point also, beside those
two which we have mentioned, was their testimony un-
true ; for, as St. Jerome observes 8, " our Lord's expression
had been ' I will raise it up ;' that is, a living and breath-
ing Temple. To build is one thing, to raise another."

Again let us stop to dwell on this : how all things con-
spire and combine to testify to our Lord's immaculate
purity, that snow-like garment of celestial whiteness with
which His manhood was clothed. " Such is the Divine
innocency," says Quesnel, " that falsehood itself cannot
invent any thing which is capable of tarnishing it." It
is, indeed, His raiment like the light, for like the light of
the Sun it shineth in the midst of all things, however
foul, and exposeth them, but is incapable of being stained
by them, or losing aught of its brightness.

THE ADJURATION OF THE CHIEF PRIEST

"And now," upon this, "the High Priest " (Matt., Mark),
perhaps impatient at being thus thwarted by the contra-
diction of the false witnesses, and at our Lord's meek
silence, "arose up" (Matt., Mark), "and stood in the
midst" (Mark), as in a solemn authoritative manner, or,
as St. Jerome says, " from anger and impatience," " and

1 1 Pet. ii. 22. ' In Matt. torn. v. 107.

3 In Matt, lib, iv. 26.

140 THE CONDEMNATION

asked Jesus, saying " (Mark), " Answerest Thou nothing ?
what is it that these witness against Thee ?" (Mattw Mark.)
" Wishing thereby," says St. Chrysostom, " to elicit some
reply, that by it they might lay hold of Him." But all
reply, in His own justification, would have been useless,
as there was none who would listen to Him. " But Jesus
was silent " (Matt.) ; " He was silent and ansioered nothing "
(Mark). And this silence, we are told by the Prophet,
was in meekness and patient forbearance, for it was " as a
sheep before his shearers is dumb, even so He opened not
His mouth." " The silence of Christ," says St. Jerome,
" expiated the defence, or excuses, of Adam." And as
Quesnel seems to carry on the same reflection, " the silence
of the eternal Word confounds the pride of the sons of
Adam, who are always eager to justify themselves." Origen
likewise, more than once, speaks of this conduct of our
Lord as the example we are to follow, when slanderously
accused ; so much so, that in the opening of his Treatise
against Celsus, he thinks it necessary to prove, that in
writing that defence he was not acting against the spirit
of this our Lord's example of silence. And of course one
cannot but remember how frequently and emphatically the
Prophets notice this silence of Christ's, " I will keep My
mouth, as it were, with a bridle, while the ungodly is in
My sight ; I held My tongue, and spake nothing ; I kept
silence, yea, even from good words : but it was pain and
grief to Me4." The ungodly man of whom the Prophet
speaks, is Caiaphas, says Origen. And no less evidently
does the previous Psalm speak of Christ, " They also, that
sought after My life, laid snares for Me :" — " as for Me, I
was like a deaf man, and heard not : and as one that is
dumb, who doth not open his mouth. I became even as
4 Pti. xxxix. 2, 3.

THE ADJURATION OF THE CHIEF PRIEST 141

a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no re-
proofs. For in Thee, 0 Lord, have I put my trust ; Thou
'shalt answer for Me, 0 Lord My God5." This silence,
whereby He committed Himself unto Him that judgeth
righteously, does also, as by a figure, represent to us the
manner in which we are to rest in quietness and confi-
dence, and leave the issue of things in God's hands,
engaging Him, thereby, to execute His own great pur-
poses, without their being marred by our interference.
For herein human nature meekly yielded itself, in order
that God might take His own cause in hand, and obtain
His own victory over the power of darkness. It is analo-
gous to the case of the Israelites by the Red Sea, Avhen it
shut them in before and behind. "And Moses said unto
the people, Fear ye not; stand still, and see the salvation
(if the Lord, which He will show to you to-day. The
Lunt shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace6."

'11 it- High Priest being still frustrated of his purpose,
and, as St. Jerome says, — becoming the more enraged from
our Lord's silence to the false witnesses and wicked
Priests, — now challenges Him to reply, in order that by
His answer some occasion might be given for a charge
a-ainst Him. Again he asks Him, and puts his demand
with a solemn adjuration of the Name of the Living God,
to which our Lord must m-rds reply. It is remarkable,
that in this his adjuration he does not demand the truth
of the allegations that had l>ren made, "whether," as
M.ddonatus says7, " He Lad raised commotions, or taught
I'd > doctrine, or threatened the destruction of the temple."
He comes at once to the great and solemn charge, whether
He was the Son of God ; secretly knowing that our Lord,

1 Ps. xxxviii. 15. « Exod. xiv. 13, 14.

7 Comm. in Marc.

142 THE CONDEMNATION

although He did not openly allege it, yet had given His
followers to understand this, and that He would on no
occasion deny that He was indeed the Son of God. " The
High Priest " (Matt., Mark) " again " (Mark) " answered
and said unto Him, I adjure Thee by the living God that
Ttiou tell us " (Matt.) " if Thou ~be the Christ " (Matt.,
Mark) ; " the Son of the Blessed " (Mark) ; " the Son of
God" (Matt.). "Jesus saith unto him, Tlwu hast said"
(Matt.) "/ am" (Mark). The expression, "Thou hast
said," is the same reply which our Lord makes to Pilate ;
and Origen and Jerome understand it, not as simply
stating the fact of Himself, but as confirming the High
Priest's assertion and adjuration : " He did not deny," says
Origen, "that He was the Christ, the Son of God, nor
yet openly confess it, but takes, as it were, the testimony
of him that adjured Him, saying, 'Thou hast said8.'"
But St. Augustin seems to understand the expression as
simply equivalent to that of St. Mark, " I am V Such
Divine words, probably, contain some mysterious signifi-
cation, and are more than human words ; as the expres-
sion, " I am," is a declaration of His eternal Godhead ; so
that of ""Thou hast said," seems to allude to the truth,
that " every tongue shall confess Him ;" that He maketh
His enemies, even in their mockery and malice, and even
evil spirits also, to acknowledge Him.

But in addition to this, and beyond what was required
of Him, our Lord Himself now speaks, and in solemn
silence we must listen for His words, and thoughtfully
weigh their vast import. It is observable that in His
great, and momentous, and final teaching in the Temple,
when they had ceased from tempting, He Himself spake to
them by an interrogation ; and on both occasions, as well
» Tn Matt. 110. fl De Cons. Ev. iii. 20.

THE ADJURATION OF THE CHIEF PRIEST 143

now as then, it is to the same great truth that He alludes,
then by referring to the Psalm that announced it 10, and
therefore darkly, and as it were hy parable : now, by His
own most open and therefore dreadful asseveration, "But
I say unto you" it is the solemn declaration of Him who is
the Truth itself ; whose Word is more durable than the
Heavens and the earth ; and that too in answer to the
adjuration of God's Name. "But I say unto you, Here-
after" (Matt.) "ye shall see the Son of Man sittimj on the
rt't/ht hand of Power 9 and coming with" (Mark, or "on"
Matt.) "the clouds of Heaven" (Matt., Mark). Humanly
speaking, and as addressed to those Jews, the words may
imply, " You think this indeed incredible, that the ap-
parently mean Man who stands before you is the great
Messiah, and the Son of the Blessed ; but His great
triumphal advent, of which the Prophecies speak, is to be
fulfilled by His second coming hereafter ; then you shall
see Him in all that glory in which you expect Him ; then
you shall all stand before Him to be judged, as He now
stands before you. The scene will be soon reversed. This
is the solution of all your Scriptures ; this is the Lord of
whom David spake ; Jesus Christ sitting within the veil
on the right hand of God, until His enemies be made His
footstool. If you will understand this, you will under-
stand the Scriptures concerning Me." It may be observed,
that our Lord's extreme humiliation and His glory are
usually combined together ; when suffering as a criminal,
He is exerting throughout a Divine power over and in His
enemies, making them to speak as He had foretold they
should, and the like. And now, at the same moment of
His suffering the extreme of indignities and condemnation,
here is His testimony of Himself, as of One sitting on the
10 Ps. ex.

144 THE CONDEMNATION

right hand of God, and coming in the clouds of Heaven.
In like manner, in the Prophecies His glory is ever com-
bined with His humiliations : as, for instance (which
Origen notices), in that remarkable passage of the 50th
chapter of Isaiah, He is described as the Almighty and
terrible Judge, " Have I no power to deliver % Behold, at
My rebuke I dry up the sea. I clothe the Heavens with
blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering." And this
it is that commences the description of His humiliating
sufferings : " I was not rebellious, neither turned away
back. I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to
them that plucked off the hair. I hid not My face from
shame and spitting."

It may be observed, that the High Priest, and also the
Sanhedrim, afterwards speak of the Son of God ; and our
Lord acknowledges Himself as such, but meekly proceeds
on both occasions to speak of Himself as the Son of Man.
The Son of Man indeed implies the Son of God ; but as
the Son of Man does He humbly reveal Himself to us :
as the Son of Man is He now standing to be judged : as
the Son of Man will He come to judge us : as the Son of
Man does He sit as our friend on the right hand of power :
it is the Son of Man that shall henceforth be thus exalted,
and of whose kingdom our Lord proceeds to speak ; for the
Son of God was from everlasting equal to the Father ;
but of course as God also, united with man, never to be
divided.

This declaration of our Lord, respecting the dispensation
of the Son of Man, appears to be twofold. And this two-
fold interpretation is suggested by the very ambiguity of
the expression ; for our Lord combines in the very expres-
sion the mention of two different actions ; He speaks of His
sitting in Heaven, and also of His coming in the clouds.

THE ADJURATION OF THE CHIEF PRIEST 145

The word " sitting " seems to indicate continuance and
stability : the word " coming " expresses motion and acti-
vity. And they seem to refer to two events ; the former
to His sitting now in Heaven, and the latter to His coming
again at the last Day. Yet each of the expressions is also
in itself twofold, in that each is alike applicable to both
events : for the last Advent is expressed by our Lord's
coming to judge, and also by His sitting to judge. And
also the present dispensation is the time of our Lord's
sitting in the kingdom of Heaven; and besides, is the
time of His coming in His kingdom. It is, too, in per-
fect accordance with the analogy of Scripture, thus to
consider our Lord's words ; for it may be observed that it
is usual throughout the Scriptures to combine the two
events together; our Lord's first and second coming are
spoken of at the same time, and sometimes with the same
expressions. This may be shown throughout all parts of
the present declaration of our Lord ; first of all, it must
be observed that the word translated " hereafter" means
"from this time," 01 "from henceforth :" and in the simi-
lar passage in St. Luke it is " from this time." For it was
from this period, the season of our Lord's humiliation,
that God had said, " Sit Thou on My right hand till I
make Thy foes Thy footstool." It applies therefore to the
Christian dispensation, in the course of which all wicked
men shall be put under His footstool. Nor will it be less
applicable to His last Advent also, which is always spoken
of as coming so speedily, as to be almost already come :
"the hour cometh, and now is, when they that are in
their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God." So
also the expression of their " seeing the Son of Man sitting
at the Right Hand of Power," will bear likewise this two-
fold sense. For doubtless, in some very high and full

146 THE CONDEMNATION

signification, it will be fulfilled in the consummation of
all tilings, that His enemies shall behold Him; and that in
some manner visibly beyond all present thought, "Every
eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him;"
that the just shaU "see Him as He is," that "all flesh
shall see His salvation ; " that, as Job says, " In my flesh
shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine
eyes shall behold, and not another." Thus St. Stephen
and St. John saw visibly and recognized the Son of Man,
the earnest of their seeing Him in that great manifestation.
Yet these words will also fully bear the previous and lower
interpretation, as applied to the kingdom which He has
taken possession of from that very period, so as to have
been sensibly discerned by those whom He addressed.
For His enemies have in some sense even beheld Him
sitting at the Right Hand of Power : inasmuch as, how-
ever contemptible He then appeared to them, He has ever
since visibly exerted such power throughout the world,
that even Jews and unbelievers, — although they cannot
discern His secret sitting in His kingdom of Heaven, and
in the hearts of believers, — yet have beheld that power of
His displayed in the establishing of His kingdom, in which
as in a dim shadow and figure they already behold that
which will be fulfilled, when they shall behold Him in
judgment. And even now do they behold Him also com-
ing in clouds ; whether we understand the clouds as sig-
nifying that mystery and darkness which He throws about
all His comings and goings ; or, as the Fathers understand
the term in Scripture, as signifying the Prophets, and
Apostles, who are now heralding and attending, as it were,
His coming in the hearts of men : of which it is said,
" He maketh the clouds His chariot." Whereby His king-
dom already shows forth, as in dim vision, His coming

THE ADJURATION OF THE CHIEF PRIEST 147

with " so great a cloud of witnesses," i. e. the companies
of Angels and Saints on the last day. Thus the Psalmist
speaks of Him, " He sitteth in the Heavens over all from
the beginning. Lo, He doth send out His voice, yea, and
that a mighty voice : ascribe ye the power to God over
Israel : His worship and strength is in the clouds "."

We have the sanction of Origen in thus interpreting it.
He considers that this sitting of the Son of Man implies a
certain kingly stability, as of Him Who alone is Power ;
Who is fixed on the right hand ; Who hath received all
power from the Father, both which is in Heaven and
which is in earth ; and that a time will be when even His
adversaries shall behold this His firm sitting. " And this,"
he says, " may be considered to have been fulfilled from the
time of the Christian dispensation. For the disciples be-
held Him rising from the dead, and thus beheld Him seated
at the Right Hand of Power. Or else it may be, that
according to that duration, which is with everlasting God,
the interval from the foundation of the world even unto
the end is but one day." And therefore he thinks that
this " henceforth," which the Saviour here speaks of, may
imply the very short space which is to intervene before
the end. And of our Lord's coming in the clouds of
Heaven, he says, " These clouds are the Prophets and
Apostles of Christ, heirs of God and joint-heirs with
Christ, who will reign together with Him V St. Jerome,
though rather differently, yet virtually to the same effect,
says, that His sitting on the Eight Hand of Power implies
His reigning in eternal life, and with Divine power. And
of His coming with clouds, he says, on a cloud He
ascended, with a cloud shall He return ; that is to say,
with His Body alone, which He received of a Virgin, Ho
11 Ps. Ixviii. 31, ' Comm. in Matt, ad loo.

L 2

148 THE CONDEMNATION

ascended \ and with a manifold Church, which is His "Body
and the fulness thereof, He will come to judgment.

THE HIGH PRIEST RENDING HIS CARMENTS

" Then" (Matt.), on this reply of our blessed Lord, "the
High Priest rent his clothes, and said" (Matt., Mark), "He
hath blasphemed" (Matt.). "He did this," says St. Chry-
sostom, " in order that by so doing he might aggravate the
offence, and add weight to his words of condemnation."
And therefore, of course, if he knew that the condemna-
tion was false, the passion he evinced was feigned, and
false also. He did this as acting a part, and hypocritically :
but it is awful to think that God fulfils in earnest what
men do against Him fictitiously and in mockery ; thus he
rent his clothes for a light purpose, but God rent them for
him in very deed and truth. They arrayed Christ in royal
robes, and a crown, and a sceptre, and proclaimed Him
King of the Jews, in mockery; but God made Him all
these in a Divine reality, and in a manner infinitely sub-
stantial. As Caiaphas prophesied, though he knew it not ;
and the false witnesses, though they knew it not, in lying
spake truth ; so now the High Priest, in rending his gar-
ments, acted a real and deep tragedy for himself, for he
thus declared that the order of Levi, the Jewish Priest-
hood, was rent, and even now no more.

The garment seems especially to denote the external
ordinance and institution of the Church : as the robe of
our blessed Lord, which in mysterious contrast with this
rended garment of the High Priest, not even His enemies
could rend asunder, signified the union of His own Church.
So, too, in the parable of the new cloth on the old gar-

THE HIGH PRIEST RENDING HIS GARMENTS 149

ment, the garment represents the Jewish Church, and the
new cloth the Christian institutions and ordinances. The
figure was used with a similar signification in the Old
Testament, when God took away the kingdom from Saul.
" As Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold on the
skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto
him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee
this day8." In like manner the Prophet " Ahijah caught
the new garment that was on Jeroboam, and rent it in
twelve pieces," and explained it by saying, that the king-
dom of Israel was rent, and ten of the twelve tribes were
given him 8. But the garment of the High Priest implied,
of course, rather the Priesthood than the kingdom : it was
that garment, respecting the fashion, and colour, and orna-
ments of which such minute directions were given by God
Himself, inasmuch as it contained within it great and
Divine significations and figures of things heavenly ; this
garment it was which was now to be torn and rent, and
scattered to the four winds. This was the garment of the
Levitical Priesthood ; whereas the garment of our Lord
was that of a better Priesthood, even that after the order
of Melchizedec, which is indissoluble, and abideth for
ever, without end of days. But afterwards, when they
put on Him the royal robe of Herod, and that also of the
Human soldiers, it implied that He was invested with the
kingdom also, that of the Jews and that of the Gentiles.
In the instances above quoted from the Old Testament,
the garment is rent by the Prophet of God ; whereas here
the High Priest is made to rend his own garments, inas-
much as that Priesthood is its own destruction. And the
wonls of tin; 1'rif-a, (hat accompanied this act, were by
themselves destructive of his Priesthood, for as he rent
3 I Sam. xv. 27, 28. 3 1 Kings xi. 30.

150 THE CONDEMNATION

his garment he declared that Christ, the Holy One of God,
had blasphemed. And as this rended garment stands in
contrast with our Lord's imperishable robe, so does it also
present itself in comparison and contrast with the rended
veil of the temple. For the Priest's garment was rent by
his own hands : the veil of the temple was rent by super-
natural and Divine means, at our Lord's death, and the
hearing of His dying voice. For the opening of the
sanctuary of God, the rending of the veil into the Holy
of Holies, was the doing of God alone; no man had a
share in this : man may rend and destroy ; he cannot
restore, nor open Heaven.

This mode of interpreting this mysterious action is sup-
ported by ancient interpreters. " This took place with a
deeper mystery," says Ven. Bede 4, " that in the Passion ot
the Lord the Chief Priest should himself rend his own
garments, when the vesture of the Lord could not be
rent, even by the soldiers themselves who crucified Him.
For this showed by figure that the Priesthood of the Jews
was to be rent asunder, for the wickedness of their Priests.
But the solidity of the Church, which is wont to be called
the vesture of the Redeemer, can never be torn in twain."
And again, "he rent his garments," says Origen5, "dis-
closing the turpitude and nakedness of his soul, and mani-
festing, in mystery, that the ancient Priesthood and the
robe of office were rent asunder." " By this," St. Jerome
observes, " he showed that the Jews had lost the glory of
the Priesthood, and that the seat of the Chief Priest was
void." Indeed, in that declaration of his the Levitical
Priesthood had ceased ; in that confession of our Lord's, a
Priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedec, had appeared.
And well might that Priesthood be at an end which had
« Aiir. Cat. in Marc. 5 In Matt. torn. v. 112.

THE CONDEMNATION 151

declared Christ guilty of blasphemy. " From that time,"
Bays Theophylact, "their Priesthood was rent from thi-m,
when they condemned Christ as guilty of death."

"Yet a little while, and the ungodly shall he clc:iu
gone ; thou shalt look after his place, and he shall ho
away V Ever since that hour the House of Christ has
heen gradually filling the earth, and also the Heavens.
That of Caiaphas and his Priesthood has vanished. " The
house of Caiaphas," says St. Cyril T, " shows by its pre-
sent desolation the power of Him who was judged there."

" Low lies thine house, blaspheming Caiaphas,
Wherein Christ's holy face was struck with blows :
Such end awaits the sinners ; — soon o'erwhelm'd
In ruin'd heaps their life for ever lies."

PRUDENTIUS, ENCHIRIDION, XL.

THE CONDEMNATION

As he rent his clothes, the High Priest said that Christ
had blasphemed: "Wliat think ye?" (Matt.,) or "What
does it appear to you?" (Mark;) "ami they all" (Mark)
"answered and said" (Matt.), or "condemned Him" (Mark),
"that He is guilty of death" (Matt., Mark). And what
was this alleged blasphemy but that He had interpreted
that question which He had Himself, in the Temple, asked
them to interpret, while in mercy He withheld the full
disclosure of His dreadful Divinity ; the question, namely,
of whom it was that David spoke when he said, " The
Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on MY i i-ht hand till
I make Thy foes Thy footstool"? How vast was the guilt
of this Chief Priest, who denounced as worthy of death

6 Ps. xxx vii. 10. 7 Lect. xiij.

152 THE CONDEMNATION

the very Principle and Fount of Life ; Him from whom
life and immortality flows to them who rise again ; nay,
Him who alone is Himself Life and Resurrection, and in
Himself hath life ! How little did he know of the un-
speakable weight and consequence of his crime ! Oh,
amazing and stupendous extent of man's guilt and blind
folly, that he should come to this ! Surely, as our blessed
Lord said of them, in ineffable charity, they knew not
what they did. No doubt our Lord would teach us in
this, that if we persecute the innocent, we know not what
we do. It is Christ in them. It is we know not what.
But now from greatest evil comes, by God's mercy, greatest
good to His distressed creatures; they condemned Him
to be guilty of death, but the condemnation of Him who
was guiltless has released us, who were worthy of death,
from condemnation.

But how awful are the effects in this disclosure which
Christ makes of Himself on that wicked company ! " From
this," says Theophylact, " it is evident that the disobedient
derive no benefit from the more secret things of God being
revealed to them ; but acquire greater punishment, because
such things ought to be concealed from them." St. Am-
brose also says, " The Lord chose to prove Himself King
rather than to say that He was so, that they might not
have cause for condemnation." And Quesnel observes,
"To ask what truth is with a double heart, or with no
sincere desire to know or follow it, blinds the eyes and
hardens the heart." "We ought to be very reserved,"
says the same writer, speaking of our Lord's silence at
His trial, " in the discovery of truths when men are not
well disposed to hear them, that we may prevent their
being condemned." But, it may be asked, if this awful
declaration of our Lord's Divinity was of so terrible a

THE CONDEMNATION

nature, being " a savour unto death " to the unworthy,
why did He in His meekness break His merciful silence 1
It may be observed, that the oath put on Him by the
Chief Priest bound Him to do so. For it is written in
the Law 8, that if a soul is thus adjured to bear his testi-
mony, and " do not utter it, then he shall bear his ini-
quity." And this seems to have been the reason of the
Chief Priest's adjuration ; that if He was silent, He might
be condemned as guilty of breaking the Law ; if He con-
fessed Himself the Christ, He might be guilty of blas-
phemy. And as every thing else, in this most awful and
momentous of all occasions, seems to have been provided
for in the Divine counselfi, so does this also. For the
ruin of the wicked, and the just judgment of God, which
took place on account of this solemn appeal to the Al-
mighty God, and the victory of the Eighteous over all
His enemies, seem to have been prophetically intimated in
the prayer of Solomon 9 : " If any man trespass against
his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him
to swear, and the oath come before Thine Altar in this
house, then hear Thou in Heaven and do, and judge Thy
servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon
his head ; and justifying the righteous, to give him accord-
ing to his righteousness."

Indeed, throughout the whole scene, the Hand of God
is very wonderful, and so distinct as to be almost visible
from behind the veil. Our Lord has no specific charge
brought against Him, but that of His own prophetic decla-
ration respecting the Temple, delivered three years before ;
and which, whether we take it literally of the restoration of
His human Body from the grave, or of His raising up His

8 Lev. v. 1. 9 i Kings viii. 31, 32.

154 THE CONDEMNATION

own Christian Church on the ruins of the Jewish Temple,
has, of all things that could have been adduced, the most
signal bearing on what was now doing, and to be done.
In the next place, He is put to death after all, on no
other charge but that of His own declaration of His own
Godhead. With regard to ourselves there is also another
consideration connected with this point. It is His eternal
and awful Godhead which is the thing put forth, as the
cardinal point on which all our considerations of His Death
and Passion turn; which the Church indicates by the
selection of her Epistle for Good Friday. Nor is it Hi?
Godhead only which is thus brought forth; for it is worthy
of great attention to observe how all things are constrained
to bear witness to the manifold character of Christ. His
own sufferings throughout indicate Him to be very Man ;
His own declaration, and the fulfilment of all Prophecy,
pronounce Him very God. All persons, however unwill-
ingly and unconsciously, confess Him the King of the
Jews; all things declare Him perfectly innocent, as the
Lamb without spot; all things declare the free agency
and sin of the Jews ; all things prove the Hand of God,
and His will, in the accidents of casual occurrence, or the
passions of men.

CHRIST ABUSED

IT is not improbable that the High Priest, and the Council
that attended, may at this time have withdrawn, and
left Christ in the custody of the guard and attendants who
now began to abuse His most sacred Person. "And the
men who held Jesus mocked and beat Him" says St. Luke :
"some began to spit on Him" (Mark), "and spat on His face"

CHRIST ABUSED 155

(Matt.), which was not only in itself an action expressive
of abhorrence and loathing, and the highest of all natural
indignities, hut legally also marked as the most igno-
minious of inflictions, as in the case of an undutiful
brother1. And "they covered" (Mark, Luke) "His face"
(Mark) by way of mockery, and they "beat Him on the
face" (Luke) "and began to" (Mark) "buffet Zftm" (Matt.,
Mark), "and others struck Him with the palms of I It fir
hands" or with staves (Matt.). And St. Mark tells us
that it was the attendants who struck Him with these
blows ; from which one might be led to think that it was
with their official staves, which this word imports (pama--
(jiaTa). This they did after they had concealed His face,
in a way that they might not be seen, out of mockery ;
"and they asked Him, saying" (Luke), "Prophesy " (Matt.,
Mark, Luke) " unto us, Thou Christ " (Matt.), Thou great
Anointed Prophet, "who is it that struck Thee?" (Matt.,
Luke.) These things, which the inspired writers have
mentioned, are not intended for a full account of these in-
dignities, but only as a specimen of them ; for to this
account St. Luke adds, "And many other things they ninth?
unto Him, blaspheming" It seems not improbable that
many particulars of our Lord's sufferings throughout, cer-
tainly the fuller description of many, might be gathered
from the Prophets, in points which the Evangelists have
not recorded. Thus we are told, what we might reason-
ably conclude was the case, from the bruises and blows,
that " His visage was so marred more than any man, and
His form more than the sons of men;" so that "many
were astonished 2 ; " and in another place, in addition to
His giving " His back to the siniters," and that " He hid
not His face from shame and spitting," it is also said, that
> Deut. xxv. 9. * Isa. lii. 1 t

156 THE CONDEMNATION

He gave His " cheeks to them that plucked off the hair8,"
which might have been either now, or when they put on
the crown of thorns : and also that the hlood with which
He was covered, probably when His robe was put on after
the scourging, "stained all His raiment4." There are
many such particulars in the Old Testament, as that
of the Psalmist, that his " knees were weak through
fasting."

Thus was our Lord and Master silent, and " as a sheep
before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth : "
but in this unspeakable silence, His Divine charity was
not silent, for it was about this time that He turned to
look on St. Peter, who had reason to say with the Psalmist,
" Thou turnedst Thy face from me, and I was troubled ;"
" lift up the light of Thy countenance upon me." By this
His silence also, as by a Divine eloquence, He was teach-
ing His Church, and speaking more strongly than words
could express, the lesson which He had taught, " learn of
Me, for I am meek and lowly." They spit over His sacred
countenance, that we may think no more of beauty of
countenance, but lament the guilt to which it has led us :
they beat Him with the palms of their hands, that false
human honour 'may be at an end, and that we may be
ashamed of avenging our dishonours ; they beat Him with
the fist, that our bruises may be light to us, and that we
may not dare to maltreat our brother, who is to us in
Christ's stead. They covered His face in order to mock
and strike Him, that He might expiate our many slanders
of our neighbour ; and that we may not be grieved to be
ourselves calumniated. So perfect an example to us in all
things is the adorable Son of Man. St. Chrysostom ob-
serves, that " the Evangelist with the greatest care men-
* laa. 1. 6. * Isa. Ixiii. 3.

CHRIST ABUSED 157

tions those things which appear most opprobrious, conceal-
ing nothing, and ashamed of nothing, but esteeming it the
greatest glory, that the Lord of the world should sustain
such things for us." " This let us read continually, this
let us inscribe on our hearts, and in these things let us
glory 6." And St. Basil also 6 : " Here Christ hath afforded
us an example of long-suifering and patience, in bearing
the injuries of the Jews : who, when heaping insults upon
insults they loaded Him with contumelies, yet accused
them in nothing, that they should desist from their malice
and wickedness : and was so far from avenging Himself,
that lie ilid not in the slightest degree contradict or resist
tin-in. On the contrary, He laboured to repay their in-
human cruelty with benefits. By the abundant bestowing
of "blessings He requites their wickedness; and at last
sustained the Cross, for the sake of them who were crucify-
ing Him."

But as to His wretched persecutors, how little did they
conceive what they were doing ! hiding His face, as if He
were some ignominious and wretched man unfit to look on,
in a sort of perhaps drunken frolic : hiding that face which
is the light of heaven, and from which angelic creations
drink ineffable bliss and hope. Surely it was of this the
Prophet spake, when he said, " Be astonished, 0 ye hea-
vens, at this, and be horribly afraid : be ye very desolate,
saith the Lord V But even now in their wanton folly,
they are constrained by a mysterious providence to acknow-
ledge Him the Christ, although in mockery ; and to per-
sonate by their mad actions the very history of their own
condemnation and judgment. Thus did they hide His
face from them ; and yet if He lifted not up the light of

* Hoin. Ixixvi. c De Patientia Christi.

7 Jer. ii. 12.

158 THE CONDEMNATION

His countenance upon them, and they did not behold His
glory, the glory as of the only begotten Son of God, it
would have been well for them never to have been born.
Yet it was not that He hid His face from them, but that
they, by their foolish and careless and cruel mockeries of
justice and truth, by their thorough want of seriousness,
had shut up and blinded their own eyes; so that they
could not behold Him. And when they, by their evil
deeds, had persuaded themselves that the face of God was
hidden and covered, when they thought that they could
insult and beat Him with impunity, and be not at all the
worse for it. This is the very description of the wicked
in all ages : they say, " He hideth His face, and will never
see it." " The Lord doth not see, neither doth the God of
Jacob regard it '." Thus as the High Priest when he rent
his clothes, so these now in their wickedness, did that
which was Divinely significant of themselves, of their own
conduct and fate. It was not that He, like Moses, put a
veil over His face, that they might not behold His glory ;
but they themselves veiled His face in their wickedness.
This would exactly describe the manifestation of Christ
among the Jews ; this would describe their case unto this
day ; the veil is 011 their heart, and placed by them on His
countenance. So is it with all unbelievers. It would
seem as if all this wonderful scene was intended to set
before us a description of all folly and wickedness of men
at all times : for in their sins they must be in the sight of
good Angels like these men, and sin itself is an insult in
the presence of the Most High, and a denial of His adora-
ble Majesty. But may God grant that we all, even in
these His humiliations, " with open face beholding as in a
glass the glory of the Lord, may be changed into the same
8 Ps. x. 12 ; xoiv. 7.

CHRIST ABUSED l,r)9

image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord9"!

From the Divine superintendence and the agency of
wicked men, we may observe something of another who
was most active in this scene ; one more wicked and more
crafty than men ; and doubtless never was all his craft
and all his power more exerted than on this occasion.
And it may be seen, that with those who hold with him,
and give themselves up to act his part, he prevails more
and more, and gains an ascendency over them, as in the
case of Judas and Caiaphas. But all his arts against our
Lord and His faithful followers are made to recoil on his
own head, and work the good he intended not. He was
allowed to afflict Christ and to oppress Him with a weight
of agony ; but it only serves to make His resignation more
perfect, and His prayer more earnest, and His sacrifice
more meritorious. Then he instigates His disciple to deny
Him, and seems to prevail ; but in the moment of his
victory Christ brings His disciple back to Himself and to
repentance, and thereby opens His arms of mercy to all
penitents : and on this temper of penitence, as on a rock,
His Church is founded, being more rich in penitent
sinners, than in righteous persons. And now when he
excites these bad men to rival each other in cruelty against
Him, not only does Christ quench all the fiery darts of the
wicked one by the shield of invincible patience, but by a
Divine and overflowing charity and serene fearlessness of
death, overcomes and tramples under His feet all the
power of the enemy.

9 2 Cor. iii. la

160 THE CONDEMNATION

THE MEETING OF THE SANHEDRIM

WE come next to a point in the narrative which admits
of some considerable doubt and difficulty ; for St. Luke's
account of our Lord's Confession and Condemnation so
much resembles that of the other two Evangelists, that
some have supposed it to be the same circumstance. By-
omitting, however, any reference to it in the foregoing
arrangement, and placing it here, it is of course considered
as a different transaction. And I proceed to mention on
what grounds. We may observe that the first two Evan-
gelists mention the ill-treatment of our Lord, by the
servants, as occurring after He was condemned by the
High Priest ; but St. Luke mentions it as occurring before
this meeting on the morning. It was from the hands of
those in whose custody our Lord was : " Now they that
held Jesus mocked Him" Add to this, that St. Matthew
and St. Mark, when they come to speak of the morning,
which was of course after the cock-crowing and the denials
of St. Peter, speak of a council taking place. " And
straightway when it was morning " (Mark), or " When it
was now morning" (Matt.), "all" (Matt.) "the Chief
Priests" (Matt., Mark) " and Elders of the people" (Matt.),
or " with the Elders and Scribes and the whole Sanhedrim "
(Mark), " took counsel together " (Matt., Mark), or called a
formal assembly, " against Jesus to put Him to death "
(Matt.). This expression, "when it was morning," and
also that of St. Luke, that " when it was day " they took
Him to their Council, clearly denotes the order of time,
and marks this assembly as evidently distinct from our
Lord's examination in the night by the Chief Priest and
his assessors. It is also intimated, that it was a necessary

THE MEETING OF THE SANHEDRIM 161

circumstance in order to their accomplishment of His
death. But the first two Evangelists make no mention of
what took place at that assemhly, which they speak of as
being convened at this time; and this is the account which
St. Luke supplies. Indeed the assembly of which St
Luke gives the account, is not only at the same time as
that spoken of thus by the other two, but is also introduced
by him with the mention of their leading Jesus "into
their council" from the place where the servants were
abusing Him. Add to this, that to make both condemna-
tions one and the same, would be to consider the High
Priest as president of the Sanhedrim, which it does not
appear that he was. They met indeed in his house, for at
the meeting on the Wednesday, when Judas betrayed
Him, it is said10, "Then assembled together the chief
priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto
the palace of the High Priest, who was called Caiaphas."
And here on this night they appear to have been collecting
around the High Priest, before the meeting of their own
court. But a formal act of their own body might have
been necessary on a capital charge, in their own council-
chamber. And yet this meeting of their Council might
be no more than merely a formal act, inasmuch as the real
power devolved on the High Priest, from his unjust con-
nexion with the Romans. At all events, the express
mention of them "all" distinctly, and "their whole
Council," is very remarkable : such words are not without
a purpose. Dr. Lightfoot, who understood the Jewish
customs, arranges it in his harmony as a separate circum-
stance, as it is here done, without apparently considering
the point open to question. We may conclude, therefore,
that what St. Luke relates took place at this council,
»• Matt. xxvi. 3.

M

162 THE CONDEMNATION

after what had passed before the High Priest, and hie
sentence.

There still remains this difficulty ; how the circum-
stances are so similar with regard both to the question
and the reply that is made to it. "We may account for
this by supposing that they, having known and witnessed
by what means the High Priest had at last succeeded in
condemning our blessed Lord, put the same questions
themselves in order to elicit the same answers. And this
is confirmed by our noticing that they afterwards put
distinctly a question, which the High Priest had not put,
but to which they had now learned that our Lord would
make a full confession, viz. "Art Thou the Son of God?"
Moreover, although the circumstances are similar, yet, it
may be observed, they are not the same ; and indeed even
the words of our Lord's declaration are not the same. For
before the High Priest our Lord says, " Ye shall see the
Son of Man ;" but in St. Luke it is, " From this time the
Son of Man shall be." And although in both He speaks
of His " sitting on the right hand of Power," yet in St.
Luke He adds nothing of His " coming in the clouds of
Heaven" as Judge. The statement in St. Luke is as
follows : "And when it was day, the Presbytery of the
People, and the Chief Priests and Scribes came together,
and led Him into their council, saying, Art Thou the
Christ ? tell us. And He said unto them., If I tell you, ye
will not believe : and if I also ask you, ye will not answer
Me, noi* let Me go" This passage, in confirmation of what
has beei: said, might be explained thus : that they, in
order to elicit the same answer which the High Priest had
done for His condemnation, say unto Him, "Art Thou
the Christ ?" Our Lord answered to the effect, that He
did not wish, to avoid answering, if they really had any

THE MEETING OF THE SANHEDRIM

desire to know; but the fact was, if Ho told them, they
would not believe it ; and if He were to ask them questions,
such as must necessarily lead them to a conviction and
confession of the truth, as He had asked them in the
Temple, they would not consider the subject : they would
not give Him any answer ; nor if He were to ask them
would they acquit Him, and let Him go ; there was there-
in iv no good to be done by His speaking. He therefore
simply states to them, what moreover He had (-ailed their
attention to in the Temple, the declaration which Ileknew
they were now desirous to obtain from Him, — solemnly
adding, "From hencefortJi diall the Son of Man be sitlimj
on the right hand of the power of God" They, knowing
the statement He had made before the High Priest, imme-
diately took up the words, and "All of them said. Art Thou
llti'n the Son of God ? He said unto them" answering their
formal judicial question put by all, "As ye say, even so I
am," or " Ye say that I am. They then said " (as the
High Priest had done before), " being enraged," says
Chrysostom, " and assuming an expression of disgust ;"
" what farther need have we of testimony ? for we have
heard it from Hfe own mouth" If this be the mode of
explaining the words, then they would contain the formal
condemnation of the Sanhedrim, in addition to that of the
Jii'jh Priest; so that three parties, Annas, Caiaphas, and
the Sanhedrim, would each by a distinct act have ha. I a
^hait; in His death.

Some suppose that our Lord's answer is intended to

convey to them a warning and denunciation of the day of

Judgment ; " as if He had said," Theophylact observes,

" hereafter it is not a time for discourses for you, but from

henceforth it shall be a time for judgment, when ye shall

Ic sitting on the right hand of Power." But wo

M 2

164 THE CONDEMNATION

should rather take it with Quesnel, — not as any thing that
implied a threat to His judges, though doubtless containing
that awful truth, — but a calm declaration " of the power
of that state in which His Eesurrection would place Him;
— that, instead of the mortal life they were going to take
from Him, He shall receive a new one full of power and
glory."

NOT is the repetition of this declaration any sufficient
argument against the present arrangement ; we know from
many instance? in the Gospels, that it was our Lord's
custom to repeat the same declarations on different occa-
sions : and we have before had to remark, that the
Almighty throughout the Scriptures does repeat His
assertion a second, and a third time, when the matter is
very important, and strongly established with God. For,
the same reason which Joseph mentions to Pharaoh may
be applied to this subject, where he says that the dream
was repeated " because the thing is established by God,
and God will shortly bring it to pass V In like manner,
when Abraham had offered up his son, it is not once only
that his acceptance is declared of God, but twice. " And
the Angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of Heaven
the second time, and said, By Myself have I sworn, saith
the Lord'."

1 Gen. xli. 32. 2 Gen. xxii. 15, 16.

On further consideration, the writer is more inclined to think
that St. Luke is but recording the same transaction as the two
former Evangelists. There is a difference of precisely the same
kind in the two accounts of the centurion at Capernaum, as given
by St. Matthew viii. 5 — 10, and St. Luke vii. 1 — 10, where the
latter is evidently detailing the same incidents, but more circum-
stantially, and, therefore, with diversity in particulars. We find
also in the Acts of the Apostles the High Priest acting in like
manner in Council with the Elders, as ch. iv. 5, 6, and v. 17. 41.

TJiard Edition.

PART II

Dag of

SECTION I— THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

" Lord, how are they increased that trouble Me ! many are they
that rise against Me."

CHRIST LED TO PILATE

IT was probably at the meeting of the Sanhedrim they
considered over what to do to the Lord ; they might
have kept Him till after the Feast, as Herod afterwards
did St. Peter, but that would not have been a safe pro-
cedure, and their passions were too inflamed ; so that tli< v
adopted this expedient of giving Him up to Pilate, think-
ing that he would put Him to death without hesitation or
inquiry. And now "the whole multitude of them" that is,
the whole body of the Sanhedrim, "arose" (Luke), and
" haviiifj humid" (Matt., Mark) "Jesus" (Mark), as one
condemned to death, — for indeed He had been bound as a
prisoner in the house of Annas, — " they led Him awuy "
(Matt., Mark, Luke, John), as it has been recorded !, with
a halter or cord around His neck, "from the palace of
1 See Bishop Taylor's Lifo of d

166 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

Caiaphas" in which the Council of the Seventy had their
assembly, " to the Prcetorium " (John), or place of the
Eoman Governor : " and delivered Him up to Pontius "
(Matt.) "Pilate" (Matt., Mark), "the Governor" (Matt.).
Now this they did, either because they had not the power
of putting any one to death by a judicial sentence; or
because it was " not lawful " for them to do so at the time
of their Feast. " As they wished to put Him to death,"
says St. Chrysostom, " and were themselves unable to do
it on account of the Feast, they led Him to the Governor.
And consider how this was brought about, that it should
be at the Feast, for so it had been prefigured from above."
Thus did God overrule their previous intention, which was,
that it should not be at the Feast ; and fulfilled the pro-
phecies, that our Lord should be delivered up to the
Gentiles, and crucified. Their own motive might have
been, that the execution of a Eoman Governor would take
place in spite of any opposition from the people ; and they
might have preferred this mode of gratifying their revenge,
in order to expose Him, in the sight of His followers, to
the humiliations of the worst of public executions. But,
whatever it was, what was intended by malice as the
greatest evil, became the greatest good, by the manifestation
of Christ crucified.

Here we cannot but again pause to observe, that as the
author of evil has had throughout the evil which he
intended recoil upon himself, and as the weapon he framed
is turned against him, so also is it the case with the
human instruments he uses. For here again, as in every
act of their wanton wickedness, the Jews are personating,
as in type, their own judicial punishment, which was to
be delivered up to the Romans. As of old wicked Haman
died on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai,

CHRIST LED TO PILATE 167

thus Judas brings on himself that death which he prepared
for Christ; thus ( laiaphas, to save his nation from th»i
Romans, gives up Christ to them, and thereby Christ and
His true followers escape death, but the nation is left in
their hands ; thus the High Priest, in his zealous care that
the Temple be not evil spoken of, destroys it ; and pre-
tending a keen sense of blasphemy, the hearing of which
polluted his pontifical robes, rends the Priesthood, and
unsanctifies it for ever. They accuse Christ of blasphemy,
but are themselves, by the same words, blaspheming.
They bring Him to Pilate from a mysterious fear of
shedding innocent blood, in order to throw the guilt on
another; but thereby they made it more signally their
own act than they could otherwise have done ; with one
voice taking the blood on themselves, and exculpating
Pilate. Again, Pilate sacrifices Christ for fear of the
Romans, and in order to gratify the people, and the people
afterwards complain of him to the Romans, and he is in
consequence deposed, and falls into the fate which he
desired to avoid. Instances of this kind are so numerous,
as to indicate some mysterious principle of the Divine
dealings, in all the operations of Christ's enemies, whether
spiritual or human. To this the Psalmist so often alludes.
They " are sunk down in the pit that they made : in the
same net which they hid privily is their foot taken * :" he
" is fallen himself into the destruction that he made for
other ; for his travail shall come upon his own head 8 :"
" Let them be taken in the crafty wiliness that they have
imagined 4 :" " Let his net, that he hath hid privily, catch
himself, that he may fall into his own mischief 6 :" "He
shall recompense them their own wickedness, and destroy
them in their own malice e :" " Let the ungodly fall into
« Ps. ix. 15. 3 vii. 1C, 17. 4 x. 2. 5 xxxv. 8. « xciv. 23.

168 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

their own nets together, and let me ever escape them V
And many are the instances of the same kind in the other
Scriptures. St. Cyril says, " This their impiety was not
unknown to the Prophets, for the "blessed Isaiah saith, in
a certain place concerning them, ' Woe unto the wicked !
for the reward of his hands shall be given him8.' And
Ezekiel, ' I will recompense their ways upon their own
heads, saith the Lord God V For as they gave up Christ,
the Saviour of all, to the soldiers of the Romans, so shall
they, in just requital, be given up to the Roman power,
and be consumed by their hand."

There is something very awful in this mysterious over-
ruling of God ; and yet, at the same time, there is some-
thing consolatory in this very mysteriousness, as being
indicative of infinite power. It is as Job expresses of the
Divine presence, " Behold, I go forward, but He is not
there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him: on
the left hand, where He doth work, but I cannot behold
Him : He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I cannot
see Him : but He knoweth the way that I take10." The
very feeling of want, because we are not able sensibly to
perceive His presence, arises from the stronger sense we
spiritually entertain of it : we feel after a presence of
which we entertain a vivid mental apprehension : it was
a strong spiritual discernment of God's presence that made
Moses to ask for a visible manifestation of God.

JUDAS RESTORING THE MONEY

IT is not clear at what period of time Judas repented and
restored the money; for the word "then" (rore), with
which St. Matthew introduces the account, does not, with
^ Ps. cxli. 11. 8 Isa. iii. 11. 9 Ezek. xi. 21. " Job xxiii. 8—10.

JUDAS RESTORING THE MONEY 169

this Evangelist, imply immediate continuance in point of
time. But as every oth^r arrangement must depend on
mere vague supposition, it seems better to adhere to the
order of the inspired narrative ; as if by a speedy judgment
lie actually preceded Christ in his death. Perhaps imme-
diately on the perpetration of his crime he had been half
conscience-stricken, and waited, in fearful suspense, for
the issue ; and, while so doing, now saw our blessed
Saviour dragged through the streets as a criminal con-
demned to death : " Then Judas, who had betrayed Him,
when he saw that He was condemned, repented himself, and
brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the Chief Priests
and Elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed
the innocent blood " (Matt.). Here it may be noticed, that
Judas only speaks of our Lord as " the innocent blood :"
nor is there ever any allusion to his knowledge of our
Lord's Divine nature : and this agrees with what we
have so often observed, that the knowledge of our
Lord's Divinity was an especial gift of faith, even to those
who were most near His sacred Person ; for that a know-
ledge of His Divine greatness and power was imparted to
all, in various degrees, according to their religious attention.
But on reading of his repentance, the thought may
occur, why the traitor should have repented at this time,
when he found that our Saviour was condemned ; for this
he might have reasonably expected, when he betrayed
Him into their hands. Nor would it lessen the difficulty
to suppose, that he expected our Lord would have de-
livered Himself by some great exertion or manifestation
of His supernatural power ; for this would render it more
unaccountable that he should have been faithless to Him,
or betrayed Him, as it would have afforded him loss
prospect of impunity. But it may be very easily accounted

170 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

for, on considering the usual effects of sin, and the mode
in which the devil exercises hi* temptation ; as soon as
the sin is committed, then he gives up the sinner to the
knowledge, and often to the full weight of his guilt, "Per-
fecto demum scelere, magnitude ejus. intellecta est," as the
philosophical Eoman historian says of the greatest of
Nero's crimes. " Observe," says St. Chrysostom, " that he
repents when the sin is completed and brought to its ter-
mination. For the devil does not permit those, who do not
watch, to see their sin, till they have perpetrated the evil."
The motive of this wretched man appears clearly, from
the consent of all, to have been covetousness : this waa
the vice to which he was addicted ; nor does any other
appear as the prevailing principle on which he acted.
But to this main spring of action others would be subor-
dinate ; and by it many other passions would be called
into operation. Deceit and dishonesty would become the
means he would habitually take for the attainment of his
ends ; and the more malicious passions would be excited
when his governing temper was counteracted. And so it
appears to have been now : for we cannot but suppose
that feelings of revenge and ill will had some share in
instigating him to these means of attaining the objects of
his avarice. This indeed is apparent from the occasion
on which his purpose is first formed, namely, on his being
thwarted and disappointed respecting the money spent on
the ointment ; and that disappointment was accompanied
with something of a reproof from our Lord, when He
prevented his purpose. Now all these bad passions would
suddenly give way, when he perceived the victim of his
malice overcome by his successful treachery ; and his
avarice had been satisfied on receiving the money. Then
on a sudden, in the calm that succeeds on the gratification

RESTORING THE MONEY 171

of excited passion, all the circumstances of his guilt would
rush to his mind ; and the devil would throw no impedi-
ment in the way of their doing so : our Saviour's many
kindnesses, and long forbearance, and repeated warnings,
His spotless life, and ineffable goodness, would appear
strongly before him as for the first time. And though it
is said that he repented, yet the Greek term (/Aera/xeAr/tfeis)
rather signifies that he was stricken with remorse, or
repented in the way that we use the word for regret.
The devil who, we read, had taken possession of him, now
filled him with such horror at what he had done, as to
instigate him onward to a fresh crime. For what ^vo
humanly describe as the known effects, and the usual
operations, of passion, Holy Scripture speaks of as the
agency of the evil spirit. Indeed Origen very admirably
writes to this effect : " Perhaps Satan, who after the sop
entered into Judas, after he had done what he wished,
retired from him. And as the devil was retiring he un-
derstood and perceived, that in betraying the innocent
blood, he was condemned of God : and his mind being
now left to itself, and not having the devil working in
him, was able to comprehend. He was able, therefore, to
repent, as the devil was departing from him, and to restore
the thirty pieces of silver to those who had given them :
and ho could say, that which before his departing he could
nut say, 'I have sinned in betraying the innocent blood.'
Not that the devil, in departing from such a one, ceases to
lie in wait for him ; but he observes his time : and when
a person has come to the knowledge of his second sin, the
devil watches for another occasion to deceive him." Origen
then proceeds to show, that " it was thus in the case of
the incestuous Corinthian, who after the devil had tempted
him to crime, sorrowed unto repentance ; yet St. Paul

172 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

urged the Corinthians to restore him, lest being swallowed
up with overmuch sorrow, Satan should gain an advan-
tage ; ' for we are not ignorant,' he says, ' of his devices V "
But little commiseration for sorrow and repentance is to
be found among companions in crime. In the Temple he
makes his confession, and offers restitution, but they in
the Temple, who ought to receive the penitent, are the
partners of his guilt. " They said unto him, What is that
to us? see thou to that" (Matt.), in scorn at his relenting,
when they themselves were hardened, and wished to harden
themselves more against the voice of conscience. " What
is that to us ? " this will express the difference at all times
between the fellow-feelings of the unbeliever and the
faithful. No burden that our brother can bear is nothing
to us; his burden is our burden, as our burden is the
burden of our and his merciful Saviour : how much more
when it is under the weight of our own common guilt
that he labours ! To sympathize with his repentance, may
be the means which God has provided to bring us to a
sense of our own sin. But here, on the contrary, we have
the voice of the children of Cain, "What is that to us?"
Am I my brother's keeper 1 And happy he who seeks that
mercy from God, which he cannot find in man. It was
not so with Judas : for now he felt the full weight of the
curse of Cain, " My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face
of the earth • and from Thy face shall I be hid V " And
casting down the money in the temple, he departed, and
went and hanged himself" (Matt.) ; or, as St. Luke records
in the Acts of the Apostles 8, "falling headlong, he burst
asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." We
may suppose, that frustrated in the attempt to hang him-
1 2 Cor. ii. 11. Orig. in Matt. 117. 2 Gen. iv. 13, 14. 3 Acts i. ia

JUDAS RESTORING THE MONEY 173

self, he afterwards accomplished Ills evil purpose in the
other way ; or rather, that having hanged himself, he fell
down from the place over the precipice. Some suppose,
that the word translated " hanged himself " might mean,
that he was overwhelmed with grief and suffocation, and
so died ; but there appears no adequate authority for this
interpretation ; and Origen, Chrysostom, and others men-
tion that he hanged himself.

The question may be asked, whether the repentance of
Judas would have been available at this time, if he had
sincerely repented \ And from the unbounded nature of
Scripture promises, we cannot but suppose that he would
have been received even now, if he had truly repented.
" For if," says Origen, " after he had restored the money,
and confessed his crime, in betraying the innocent blood,
he had not gone and hanged himself, but had sought place
for repentance, he could perhaps have found Him who
hath said, As I live, I will not the death of a sinner, but
his repentance4."

Throughout the dispensation of the Gospel covenant,
the door of mercy is open to the last hour to the true
penitent ; no sin is beyond the power of Christ's blood to
wash out ; every sin against the Son of Man may be for-
given ; true repentance on the part of man is indissolubly
united with the forgiveness of sins on the part of God.
But it appears equally clear from the whole analogy of
Scripture, that true repentance becomes more and more
difficult, according to the degrees of grace rejected, and
after a certain point impossible. The heathen moralists
describe this to be the case in the ultimate progress of
vice : and the state of nature is herein a shadow of the
spiritual probation in the state of grace. Thus it may be
4 Ezek. xxxiii. 11.

174 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

observed, that St. Paul never intimated that repentance is
in any case unavailable ; or that the door of pardon is
closed against those who are " renewed unto repentance."
But he does say, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, that it is
" impossible to renew them unto repentance " who have
grievously fallen away after great privileges. So that if
the words, " Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they
shall be as wool6," describe the unbounded extent of God's
mercies in the Gospel covenant : yet, notwithstanding
this, the state of probation under the Gospel is described
in a certain sense by those other words, " Can the Ethiopian
change his skin, or the leopard his spots ? then may ye
also do good, that are accustomed to do evil 6 :" and, " he
which is filthy, let him be filthy stiU V

Numerous as those expressions are which describe the
mercy promised to repentance, yet not less numerous are
those which speak of repentance becoming more and more
difficult, and at length impossible after the rejection of
grace given. As for instance in the expressions, of God
Himself hardening the heart, and blinding the eyes, so
that they cannot believe ; of His sending a strong delusion
on those that have pleasure in unrighteousness ; of the
light within being darkened ; of the things belonging unto
their peace being hidden from their eyes ; of quenching
the Spirit ; of sin against the Holy Ghost, which is un-
pardonable; of sin unto death beyond the power of prayer;
of seven other spirits taking possession of the soul worse
than the first ; of finding no place for repentance, though
sought carefully with tears. There may of course be a
case worse than that of Judas, inasmuch as that plea is
perhaps to be extended to him, which is pleaded for all
« Isa. i. 18. 6 Jer. xiii. 23. 7 Rev. xxii. 11.

JUDAS RESTORING THE MONEY 175

the disciples; that the Holy Spirit was not yet
Yet St. Ambrose speaks of his crime as if it was sinning
against the Holy Spirit, and that therefore repentance was
vain 8. His case was doubtless highly aggravated by the
greatness of his privileges, and the strange enormity in the
nature of his crime. What other example could profit
him who had experienced so long Christ's endearing
charities, had witnessed the holiness of His life, and
beheld the evidences of His power ? great and irreparable
must have been the fall from that heavenly height of
Divine favour. Nor was this crime merely a single act
under the influence of passion ; but apparently the result
and termination of a course of wickedness : for it appears
that he was in the habit of stealing out of the common
stock of that poor and little company ; and this, notwith-
standing his being at the same time in the hearing of our
Lord's daily discourses, of faith and heavenly mindedness,
" of temperance and judgment to come ;" and that on the
occasion on which he was provoked, he actually had
designed to steal what was given for the poor. It appears
from an expression of our Lord's a whole year before this
time, that he was even then under the influence of the evil
spirit *. Indeed, when God allows men to fall into great
crimes, it has the effect of showing to them, in sensible
external action and palpable effect, what was secretly going
on in their own heart. And this sight is too much for
them to bear. This case also seems to bring out, and put
in a strong point of view, the many passages that speak
either by precept, parable, or incident, of the sin of cove-
tousness, especially in our Lord's discourses. There must
have been something exceedingly subtle and powerful in
that influence, which could have rendered a man so blind,
s Expos, in Luc. lib. x 94. 9 John vi. 70.

176 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

as to have been incapable of perceiving Christ in all that
He did : and it is very evident from numerous cases in the
Gospels, that such a sin as this does thoroughly prevent a
person from believing in Christ, or understanding His
words. Yet at the same time our Lord's careful warnings
of Judas to the last, teach us that no one is to be given up
by others as irreclaimable ; but that in his own case, each
has to fear a state of impenitence and irrecoverable hard-
ness of heart, and to take care that the eye of the soul be
ever kept open and watchful, lest of a sudden it should
open on the knowledge of guilt for the first time, when
faith and hope are gone.

On these various derelictions of God, Damascenus has
the following striking passage. " Of derelictions, one is
in order to the manifestation of some hidden virtue, as
was that of Job ; another for the avoidance of pride, as
was that of Paul; a third for the correction of another
person, as in the case of Lazarus and the rich man, for we
are naturally chastened by the sight of suffering ; a fourth
for the glory of another, as he who was blind from his
birth was so for Christ's glory ; a fifth to provoke to emu-
lation, as in the case of martyrdom. But simply there
are but two kinds of dereliction ; of which the one is by
dispensation and for discipline, the other entire and to
reprobation. That which is by dispensation and for dis-
cipline, tends either to correction and salvation, and the
glory of the sufferer ; or else to the emulation and imita-
tion of others, or to the glory of God. But that which
is entire dereliction is, when God hath done every thing
that can be done for salvation ; and yet a man still con-
tinues to the last incurable, on account of his own deter-
mined bent of mind ; for he is given up to destruction as
Judas was."

THE POTTER'S FIELD 177

THE POTTER'S FIELD

THK circumstance which follows respecting the Chief
Priests is remarkable, as one among the many instances
which they showed at this time of extraordinary super-
stition ; that is to say, of great wickedness comhined with
religious scruples. It was as our Lord said of them, they
" slrniiK'd at a gnat and swallowed a camel." " TJie Chief
Priests took the pieces of silver, and said, It is not lawful
to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of
blood" (Matt.). These are the same persons who deprived
parents of filial support, because they said the money was
set apart for this same treasury of God ; and who probably
took from the treasury this very money, to purchase the
betrayal of innocent blood. But even now, as ever, in
their superstitions and crimes, they were but fulfilling the
great purposes and prophecies of God. " And they took
counsel," it is said, they probably held a meeting of their
Sanhedrim for the purpose, " and bought with them the
potter's field, to bury strangers in," so that " on that account
the field was called the field of blood unto this day"
(Matt.). " And it was known to all that dwell in Jeru-
salem" (Acts). And here their very religious scruples
themselves were overruled to bear testimony against them.
For, as St. Chrysostom observes, their not putting the
money into the treasury was because their own consciences
condemned them, that they had thereby purohased blood ;
and the very name of the field continued an indelible
testimony against them ; " for," says he, " louder than any
trumpet it proclaimed their thirst of blood." Whereas, if
they had put the money into the treasury, nothing might
have been heard of the circumstance. And as no word

178 THE HALL OF

of Scripture is without its depth of meaning, their " taking
counsel" to do so also bears again on the wonderful
economy of their all sharing the guilt of His "blood.
" They not only do thus," says St. Chrysostom, " but by
taking counsel; and so it is in every way that no one
should be guiltless, but all accountable for that deed."
There is a discrepancy here between St. Matthew and the
Acts ; in the latter, it is said that Judas " purchased the
field." It may therefore be, that they completed the pur-
chase which he had commenced, by giving his money for
it, or it might be called his purchase as being bought by
his money, though he had no hand in the contract. In
the account given in the Acts of the Apostles, it would
almost seem as if it was in this field that he destroyed
himself, but from thence fell down by a precipice ; — as if
that sacred field, purchased with that Holy Blood, was no
place for him ; so that, even though hanged there, he fell
down from thence. It was to be " a field to bury strangers
in," the proselytes perhaps who came to Jerusalem to
worship. And who can hear the words without seeing in
them great and Divine import? For the price of Christ's
blood was not to enrich the Temple of the Jews, but to
supply a resting-place for the Gentiles; to receive their
bodies till the general Resurrection. St. Jerome, who had
been at the place, mentions that they showed this field in
his time, that it lay at the south of Mount Sion, and that
they buried there the poorest and meanest of the people.

And the prophecy, which is referred to, is very myste-
rious as bearing upon this subject : or it may be not pro-
phecy, but prophecies from two distinct prophets, from
two different points, throwing together their light on this
one transaction, and forming together one spiritual lesson
concerning it. The very obscurity which hangs about it,

THE POTTER'S FIELD 179

would lead one to suppose, that there was far more in the
matter than appears on the surface \ for in the Inspired
Records there is not even apparent mistake or accident
without a Divine purport. " Then was fulfilled that which
was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying. And they took
the pieces of silver, the price of Him that was valued, whom
they of the children of Israel did value, and gavn them
for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me" (Matt.).
Now these words are not found in the prophet Jeremiah.
But in Zechariah * we read, " They weighed for My price
thirty pieces of silver : and the Lord said unto me, Cast
it unto the potter : a goodly price that I was prized at of
them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast
them to the potter in the house of the Lord." The last
remarkable words " in the house of the Lord," are not
mentioned by St. Matthew, nor some other striking points
which are found in Zechariah. But it will be seen that
some of the words which are used by St. Matthew, as a
quotation, are not here found in this Prophet ; " whom
they of the children of Israel did value, and gave them
for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me." For the
purchase of " the field " therefore, we have to look else-
where to some other prophecy. St. Augustin mentions
that some MSS. have only " by the Prophet," omitting
the word Jeremiah, but not sufficient to be of any autho-
rity. And some explain the circumstance by a similarity,
which the Jews suppose to exist, between the prophets
Jeremiah and Zechariah ; and that this passage in Zecha-
riah is taken from some fuller prophecy in Jeremiah which
is lost. But however that may be, it seems, like some
other quotations in the New Testament, to combine an
allusion to two prophecies. For besides this nroohecy in
1 Zecb.ri.12,13.
N It

180 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

Zechariah, which appears very distinct and remarkable,
one cannot but suppose some reference contained in it to
that solemn transaction of Jeremiah, in purchasing the
field as the Lord appointed him, the evidences of which
purchase were to be " put in an earthen vessel, that they
may continue many days8." This field was to be to them
a pledge and assurance that the captives should return,
"that houses and fields and vineyards shall be again
possessed in this land." The whole passage, therefore,
taken with that prophecy would come to this meaning, —
that we captives have in our own land a field, which is a
pledge that we shall return thither. We, that are stran-
gers and captives in this Babylon of the world, being
buried with Christ in Baptism, have a place of rest in our
own land, a burying-place in Christ, purchased by His
blood. In the land of promise, given to Abraham, we
strangers and proselytes have but one field, and that is the
field purchased for us by Christ's blood. As Abraham of
old said unto the sons of Heth, " I am a stranger and a
sojourner with you; give me a possession of a burying-
place with you8." And as Jacob, at his death in Egypt,
spoke so earnestly of that field and burying-place which
Abraham had purchased in Canaan ; so may we in our
captivity in this world, which is our Egypt and house of
bondage, look to that field of rest purchased for us. "We
have no spot to call our own on earth but our burying-
place, and that is purchased by Christ for us, that we may
rest in peace ; for the Evangelist says, " It is called the
field of blood unto this day." And it is the " sons of
the stranger " who take hold of His Covenant, whom God
has promised to bring to His "holy mountain4."

It is something in this manner that St. Augustin takes
2 Jer. xxxii. 14. a Gen. xxiii. 4 4 Isa. Ivi. 6, 7.

THE JEWS FEARING DEFILEMENT 181

it ; " a burying-place of strangers, as if it were lor a stay
and resting-place for those who, being strangers in this
world, are buried together with Christ through Baptism ;
for those strangers, who, without home and country, are
tossed about the whole world as exiles, for whom rest is
provided by the blood of Christ." And St. Ambrose not
only thus interprets it, but confirms this reference to
Jeremiah's prophecy, and says that " herein is fulfilled
the oracle of prophecy, and the mystery is revealed of the
rising Church," Explaining the field as the world, and
the Creator as the Potter, "by whose mercy, although
dead in sins, we are again forme4 anew 6." " This field,
the world, is bought by the blood of Christ. He reserves
therein those who are buried with Him in Baptism, and
dead together with Christ, unto the grace of immortality."
And " a burial is there for those who, being once strangers
and foreigners, are now made fellow- citizens with the
Saints, and of the household of God." But Origen inter-
prets it quite differently, applying it to the strangers who
die by casualties abroad, and come not into the sepulchres
of their fathers. He takes them spiritually to represent
those who are " strangers from the covenant of promise,"
" who being strangers from Christ to the end, and aliens
from God, are not buried with Christ in the Rock, but
are buried in the potter's field, which is the field of
blood6."

THE JEWS FEARING DEFILEMENT

AT this period of the narrative, the Gospel of St. John

comes in to explain incidentally many things which would

6 Expos, in Luc. x. 95. 6 Coroin. in Matt. 117.

182 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

have given rise to great difficulty were it not for his
circumstantial account. He now tells us, that the Jews
themselves would not enter into the governor's house, but
that the examination was carried on by Pilate coming out
to them, and then returning to his prisoner within. "And
they themselves entered not into the prcetorium" or judg-
ment-hall, " lest they should be defiled, but that they might
eat the Passover" (John). These words, spoken in sim-
plicity by the Evangelist, cannot be read without a feeling
of astonishment, at the greatness of their hypocrisy and
self-deceit. They could not enter into an heathen house
lest they should be defied, but they feared not the defile-
ment of slaying an innocent man : it was not lawful for
them to put any one to death at the time of the Festival,
but they had no hesitation in procuring the death of
another at such a time, by means the most unjust and
unmerciful. So wonderful is the mystery of iniquity :
they unconsciously revered the shadow, while they tram-
pled under foot the reality. As St. Cyril of Alexandria
says, "What is more strange than all, they keep them-
selves pure in order to slay the lamb, which lamb signified
nothing else but the shadow of the mystery of Christ.
They do honour to the type, while dishonouring the very
truth represented by it : and, while feigning purity for the
sake of the figure, pollute themselves with the murder of
Christ. Well therefore did Christ call them whited sepul-
chres." And this the consummation of their extraordinary
hypocrisy, would have been prevented, had they afforded
any attention to our Lord's frequent and constant expos-
tulations with them against this vice. The warnings of
our Lord, and those of Scripture in general, when un-
heeded, assume in some sense the character of prophecy,
as directed by Him who knows the human heart, and the

THE JEWS FEARING DEFILEMENT 183

events to which it is tending. They derive an awful force
from their consummation, as in the case of those Scriptural
warnings against the love of riches, when viewed in the
consummation to which it tends in the parable of the
Rich man in the other world. For it will be observed,
that to this one point all our Lord's admonitions to the
Pharisees were directed; all of them especially warned
them to look to charity and the keeping of the heart, in-
stead of cloaking their wickedness by external washings
and observances T. And indeed He had by His prophets
been particularly explicit on this subject, and by His
herald and forerunner, the Baptist ; who had commenced
his preaching by telling them, — not to depend on theii
being outwardly the children of Abraham, but to repent ;
this was the general character of his admonitions.

That the warnings and commands of Holy Writ do
become in this manner prophetic, seems alluded to by
Origen. " I suppose," says he, "that it is on account of
that festival in which Barabbas was chosen unto life, and
Christ set aside, that the Lord says by the Prophet, ' Your
new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth * ;'
and because they preferred to keep their solemn festival
with the robber who was released rather than with Jesus.
For if they had observed that solemnity rightly, as Josiali,
or such as he, would have done, and then had the liberty
of making such a request, they would doubtless have de-
manded Jesus, and condemned Barabbas." This thought
of Origen's is confirmed by the words that follow in the
Prophet to whom he refers, viz. that God will not hear
their prayers, because, notwithstanding this show of re-
ligion, their " hands are full of blood." St. Cyril also
remarks, that if they had attended to their Prophets, they
7 See Ministry, 3rd Year, pp. 4^10. * lea, i. 14.

184 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

would have escaped such wickedness ; " Behold," he says,
" although the Prophet Jeremiah says, ' 0 Jerusalem, wash
thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest he saved*,'
they utterly set at nought all internal holiness, and that
of the heart, and in bringing Christ to Pilate, avoid places
as impure, and bodies of the uncircumcised ; while as long
as they do not commit the crime with their own hands, but
make Pilate the minister of their cruelty, they suppose in
their folly that they shall be free from guilt V

The hypocrisy doubtless is very common in all ages
whereby something else is substituted for the keeping of
the heart: and the greatest crimes even in a Christian
land have been committed under this cloak. But the
particular shape which it hath assumed at this time among
the Jews was peculiar, and perhaps was owing to a strong
reaction that had taken place in consequence of the Cap-
tivity which they underwent for not keeping to the law ;
so much so, that the non-observance of their Sabbaths
determined the very period of their captivity, the seventy
years for which " the land should enjoy her " neglected
" Sabbaths." It may be expected therefore, that this
hypocrisy will usually assume its peculiar form and com-
plexion from the spirit of the age, and that perhaps regu-
lated by strong external reactions ; whereby " the form of
godliness " may be kept up while " the power " is denied.

THE CHARGE OF SEDITION

THE Jews had now delivered our Lord unto Pilate as one

worthy of death, and were very clamorous against Him.

But in all this the Governor could not see any clear charge

9 Jer. iv. 14. J In Joan. lib. xii.

THE CHARGE OF SEDITION 185

distinctly brought forward concerning His guilt, and seems
at a loss to understand it. "Pilate therefore went forth,
and said, Wliat accusation bring ye against this Man ?
They answered and said unto him, If He were not a male-
factor, we would not have delivered Him up unto tftee"
(John). "As if," says St. Augustin, " he would yield to their
authority, without further inquiry into the nature of the
charge." And here we find that the Gentile comes forth
from the judgment-hall to them, and shows a regard and
reverence to their laws ; but they who should be the light
of the heathen, and who boast themselves of the know-
ledge of God, only lead him to partake in their guilt. The
very appeal he makes to them serves to show, as St. Cyril
observes, the greatness of their injustice in contrast with
tin.' < ' entile, who was used to judge a criminal according to
justice, so that their wickedness seems to astonish him.
But the greater the injustice, the more does it tend to show
our blessed Lord as the most perfect pattern of patience ;
and the more does it sanctify to His followers every case
of the most cruel oppression. As they could find no de-
finite accusation that could fix itself on His most spotless
life, they call Him a malefactor ; — Him, who alone of all
that are born of women, was perfectly innocent, and with-
out blemish. But so did He offer Himself, and was ac-
cepted of God as a malefactor, or in place of malefactors :
as for our sakes, and for their sakes, He was as a malefactor,
" bearing the sins of many ;" as one who took upon Him-
self every evil that had been committed, though Himself
innocent. The very term malefactor comes forth with a
Divine emphasis. As all things proclaim Him " without
sin :" so do they with equal pointedness mark Him out
as bearing condemnation, and " numbered with transgres-

186 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

This vain declaration, however, is not sufficient to satisfy
the Roman judge ; but the matter appeared to be one with
respect to themselves and their own religion, for the protec-
tion of which and their temple the Romans allowed them
soldiers and a court of Judicature. "Pilate therefore said
unto them, Take ye Him and judge Him according to your
law" (John); which words from a Roman governor seem
to imply that they had the power. "But the Jews said
unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any one to death"
(John) ; i. e. as St. Chrysostom, St. Augustin, and St.
Cyril of Alexandria, take it, it was not lawful for them to
put any one to death at this time, during the Festival.
For this is the only point on such a subject in which he
could need information from them ; and otherwise we find
them too ready, as in the case of our Lord at other times,
of the woman taken in adultery, and of St. Stephen, to
execute their vengeance by instant death.

And here, lest our minds should be taken up in the
narrative of secondary causes, so as to forget God's hand
and overruling presence in them, the Evangelist, after the
example of his Lord, seems to pause at every step, to point
out to us that in all this it was Christ freely offering up
Himself, according to the will of God. This he does by
showing that this happened in the fulfilment of our Lord's
declaration; "that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled which
He spake signifying by what kind of death He should die"
(John). For these are the very words which St. John had
before applied to a saying of our Lord's, when in coming
up to this feast He had said, " If I be lifted up from the
earth, I will draw all men unto Me." " This He said,"
adds the Evangelist, "signifying what death He should
die2." And the other Evangelists mention our Lord's
* John xii. 33.

THE CHARGE OF SEDITION 187

frequent intimation that He should be delivered up to the
Gentiles, and crucified *. It would appear, therefore, that
this could only have taken place by the concurrence of so
peculiar an occasion. Thus did our Saviour die the most
humiliating and painful of all deaths ; and thus also was
it provided that these Jews, who had all the accumulated
guilt of His death, yet were not allowed to lay hands on,
and touch His most sacred Body in death.

The other Gospels are here necessary to carry on the
narrative of St. John : for in this Evangelist we find Pilate
returning to our Lord with questions, which he does not
account for, but St. Luke does. For finding that Pilate
required a specific charge which appertained to him as
Roman governor, as we learn from St. Luke, then "they
began to accuse Him, saying, We found this Man pervert-
ing the nation, and forbidding to give tribute unto Ccesar,
saying, that He Himself was Christ a king" (Luke). It
was hearing this charge therefore that, as St. John men-
tions, " Pilate entered again into the judgment hall, and
called Jesus " (John) ; and as a prisoner obeying his com-
ma ml, "Jesus stood before the governor" (Matt.). The
charge of forbidding to give tribute unto Cajsar was, we
know, an untruth; for they had in vain endeavoured, in
conjunction with the Herodians, to obtain grounds for it ;
but that of His being a King was a new charge, though a
subject which of all others most concerned the Roman
governor, on account of the suspicious cruelty of the
Emperor Tiberius. And the more so because, as St. Cyril
notices, the Romans were particularly severe with the Jews
in such cases, on account of their seditious character.

Hi-re we stop to contemplate the adorable Son of God
at the beck of a heathen Prefect, set as a criminal before

; Ministry, llul Vc;ir, p. H><5.

188 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

him. " He that is appointed by the Father the Judge oi
all creation," says Origen, "see how He hath humbled
Himself, to submit to stand before the judge of the land of
Judsea, and to be asked any question which Pilate pleased
to put to Him in derision or in doubt."

"And the governor " (Matt.) "asked Him " (Matt., Mark),
" saying, Art Thou the King of the Jews ? " (Matt., Mark,
Luke, John.) And now, if it were not for the more cir-
cumstantial account which St. John has given us, of Pilate's
conversation with our Lord that ensued, we might have
been in great perplexity ; for the other three Evangelists
mention that "Jesus" (Matt.) "answered and said, Thou
sayest" (Matt., Mark, Luke), confessing to the charge.
On which St. Luke informs us, that Pilate went out and
declared to the Jews, that " he found no fault in Him ;"
when from that confession we should have expected an
opposite judgment, viz. that the prisoner acknowledged
the truth of their accusation. But St. John, by giving us
the account of the conversation which intervened witli
our blessed Lord, renders the whole circumstance perfectly
clear, and explains how it is that our Lord's acquittal
takes place on the part of Pilate, and not His condemna-
tion, on His pleading guilty to the charge of His being a
King.

THE CHARGE OF BEING A KING

HERE, therefore, conies forth a fresh and remarkable cir-
cumstance, the charge of our Lord being a King. For in
like manner, as before, when they falsely called Him a
malefactor, that appellation was in one sense Providen-
tially and Divinely true, in that He stood before His

THE CHARGE OF BEING A KING 189

Father in the place of transgressors, — so also was this title,
now used, of His making Himself a King. For He had
indeed desired, and sought for Himself, a kingdom moro
extensive than Caesar's ; for God had said, " Desire of Me,
and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance,
and the utmost parts of the earth for Thy possession*."
The Jews delivered Him to the Gentiles as their King,
whom they rejected; the Gentiles received Him and
bowed the knee.

But further: — the circumstance of the Jews entirely
altering the nature of their accusation, is a proof that all
that had passed before the High Priest and the Council,
the High Priest rending his garments, and the sentence of
the Sanhedrim, was nothing more than an hypocritical
pretence ; for now they are equally vehement in prose-
cuting a perfectly different charge. And this accusation on
which so much of the wonderful circumstances that ensue
depends, arises as it were by accident. It is one of the
many instances of that striking truth, which we must keep
in mind, and ever return to, throughout this history : that
every incident arising out of the passions, the caprice,
the malice of men, or the most trifling apparent contin-
gency, invariably turns out to be of Divine intention, and
weighed long before in the counsels of the Almighty.
Such are like things apparently trivial, and having a rela-
tion to passing events, in the Ceremonial Law, which are
found replete with representations of Christ's kingdom,
being according to the pattern showed in the Mount. The
obedience of Moses was his blessing; and the disobedience
of Pharaoh was his curse ; but both alike worked the
glory of God. It is with the events themselves, as with
the narrative that records them. In the inspired accounts
* Ps. ii. 8.

190 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

of the Gospels respecting our blessed Lord, we believe that
every thing is full of a Divine purpose, and that points,
which appear to worldly critics but the inaccuracy, or
accidental repetition, or omission of an Evangelist, are
regulated by a Divine superintendence : wherein we lose
the person of the human writer, and see but a Hand
without a body, that writes supernaturally on the wall.
So in the course of events that minister to Him, we be-
lieve that, like words and syllables, they fall into a Divine
order to do Him honour, and to speak His language. The
accusation to Pilate, of His being a King, is of this cha-
racter. It does not appear that our Lord ever before
declared Himself a King ; but that the circumstance of
His being the Christ necessarily implied it. Hence, from
this accusation arises our Lord's own declaration, that He
was a King. Hence the remarkable fact takes place, of
His being put to death on the two distinct charges which
He admitted in courts of justice \ in the first, that He was
the Son of God, and in the latter, that He was a King. In
both our Lord sanctions and does honour to earthly courts
of judicature, by making them ministers and instruments
of His own testimony. From an occasion equally trifling
arises apparently the subsequent inscription of Pilate on
the Cross. And even more than this ; — by the same kind
of accident, as it were, it comes to pass that he has the
inscription written up in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.
This he does merely for the more effectual expression of
his contempt ; but it becomes, beyond this, Divinely sig-
nificant, as implying that to all nations, of every tongue,
He was also King of the Jews. And it is to be observed
that they are Gentiles, both at first and at last, who de-
clare Him ao ; for they were the Wise Men from the East
who then, at His birth, came asking for Him, " Where is

THE CHARGE OF BEING A KING 11U

He that is King of the Jews 1 " And iiow Pilate answers
that inquiry to all nations, saying in reply, " This is the
King of the Jews." Moreover, at our Lord's birth it was
the Eoman Emperor, who was made by Providence to
point out to all the world the King and the Son of David,
by causing Him, through the taxation, to be born at Beth-
lehem. And it is the Roman Emperor, the lord of this
world, who is made again to do the same by Pilate his
Governor. Then Herod, too, acknowledges Him as the
King of the Jews, although it is only to slay Him : and
now also the Jews acknowledge Him King in this charge,
although it is only to slay Him. By a similar kind of
apparent accident the Jews unconsciously acknowledge
our Lord under both titles ; for in mockery and insult in
the palace of the High Priest they acknowledge Him,
addressing Him as Christ the Prophet ; and before Herod
they arrayed Him, and knelt before Him as the King.
And the soldiers of Pilate afterwards did the same, so
that He is now also acknowledged by Jew and Gentile :
in like manner as He was at His birth.

To the question of Pilate, which he asked of Christ on
returning to the Judgment-hall, whether He was "the
King of the Jews ? " our Lord makes no direct reply ; but
He Himself, first of all, makes an inquiry of Pilate. "Jesus
iiiixii'rred him, Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others tell
it thee of Me ? Pilate " — irritated at the bare supposition
that he should feel any concern in such a matter, as if he
were a contemptible Jew — " replied, Am I a Jew ? Thine
own nation and the Chief Priests have delivered Thee unto
me" and have preferred this charge. What is the reason
of all this ? I do not understand it. " What hast Thou
done?" (John.)

And now may we reverently inquire, what our Lord in-

192 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

tended by thus interrogating Pilate, as if He needed in-
formation? For at first sight it may excite surprise, to
judge humanly, that our Lord should have to ask ques-
tions at all ; as He knew all things, and His especial
attribute is to know the thoughts of the heart ; and there-
fore, as the disciples said, He " needed not that any one
should ask " Him. For among mankind the reason why
questions are asked is from a desire to know that of which
we are ignorant. Nor is this by any means a solitary
instance : on many occasions we find our all-knowing
Lord asking questions, as man of man ; and even when
raised from the Dead, when with His new and spiritual
body He joined His disciples going to Emmaus, He asked
the subject of their conversation, and they replied as to
one ignorant of the circumstances concerning which He
inquired.

Now one point which may be observed with regard to
this subject is this, — that this conduct of our Lord, in the
days of His walking in the flesh, is in perfect analogy
with what we read of Him in the Old Testament, when
He speaks as God to man. Thus for instance it is, that
Almighty God questions Adam, and makes inquiries of
him, as man would of man, respecting what he had done ;
and also of Cain, saying, " Where is thy brother 1 " And
the same may be also found throughout the Prophets ; as
in that saying, " Come, now, and let us reason together,
saith the Lord6." That our Lord should thus speak,
when He condescended to take on Himself human in-
firmities and natural weakness, is not so surprising as the
wonderful harmony which it preserves with the conduct
of God through the Old Testament. For it seems as if in
all these things, which are there spoken of God, there may
s Isa. i. 18.

THE CHARGE OF BEING A KING 193

be some mysterious allusion to the Incarnation ; to God
conversing with us as man with man ; and also to His
judging and questioning man on the Day of Judgment, as
" the Son of Man." This is indeed a subject on which we
might probably see a great deal more by a devout atten-
tion, viz. that the actions of our Lord in the days of His
flesh were prefigured by all His previous dealings with
mankind, whereby He revealed unto us the Almighty
Father. It seems not unreasonable to suppose, that all
human parts and passions attributed to the Almighty, and
all manifestations of Himself to mankind, had some refer-
ence to His appearing as Man.

But, however, the point to be at present noticed is this,
— the fact of our Lord's asking a question should arrest and
rivet our attention to it, and the purpose of it ; for as He
cannot ask from any desire to know, it must be that by
His inquiry, and the reply to be given and recorded, He
may best inform us of something we ought to know. As
our Lord said on another occasion, when He prayed aloud
to His Father, that it was for the sake of others He did
it fl : so are His inquiries for the purpose of drawing out,
in definite act or words, the thoughts of the heart ; or of
thereby putting forth some fact more strongly to our notice.
And to this effect is the remark of St. Austin ; " The
Lord, forsooth, knew both that which He Himself asked,
and what the other would answer, but yet He wished
it to be said, not that He Himself might know, but
that that should be written which He wished to be
known."

If it might be allowed in reverence to paraphrase our
Lord's words, we might humbly venture to suppose that
He intended something of this kind. " Had you really
6 John xi. 42.

o

194: THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

any desire of yourself to know whether I am the King of
the Jews, then of course I would tell you. But, I know,
you of yourself consider such a charge very unreasonable :
but who is it that has told you so ? They are Mine own
nation, and the Chief Priests of that nation; thus you
here solemnly pronounce to Me, as judge to a prisoner,
the cause on which he stands accused ; and this declara-
tion of yours must be made known unto all the world,
that it is on this charge, made by the Jews, that I am
brought before you, and on which I die. Let them not
say, therefore, that all their prophecies of a promised King
are not fulfilled, for I come as their King ; and as the
babes in the Temple acknowledged Me in Hosannahs, so
do these in reproaches. And you ask Me 'what hast
Thou done V — What have I done to prove Me this pro
mised King? Ask the sick, the lame, the blind, the
paralytic, the lepers, the demoniacs : ask of the hungry
whom I have fed ; of the dead whom I have raised : ask of
those who have heard My doctrine, if ever there was a
King more worthy of the name, than the long promised
King of the Jews : the King they now acknowledge to
you. But as far as regards the charge, and the grounds
upon which they allege it to you, in order that I should
be put to death, as one dangerous to worldly authority,
the charge is perfectly groundless. ' Jesus answered, My
kingdom is not of this world ' (John). This I declare to
you and to them, to Gentiles and Jews both alike, that
My kingdom is not of this world."

This mode in which we have ventured to explain our
Lord's intention, is confirmed by a few words of St.
Augustin. " He asks him in return," says he, "whether
he said this of himself, or had heard it from others, wishing
to show by his (Pilate's) reply, that this was the crime

THE CHARGE OF BEING A KING 195

objected to Him by the Jews ; laying open to us the
thoughts of men which He Himself knew, that they are
but vain. And to them, after the answer of Pilate, to
both Jews and Gentiles, now inquiring, He answers, the
more seasonably and suitably, My kingdom is not of this
world."

" If My kingdom loere of this world" our blessed Saviour
continued, " then would My servants fight for Me, th<// f
should not be delivered to the Jews " (John). For they who
in this world wish to obtain or preserve a Kingdom, use a
sword in their defence, and have recourse to means of this
kind ; but the Kingdom of Heaven is obtained and pre-
served by the opposite means. The first declaration which
our Lord had made respecting this His kingdom, was that
it Itclonged to " the poor in spirit." And this the nature
of His kingdom our Lord had Himself pointed out to those
who came with arms to apprehend Him; saying, that
there was no occasion for swords and staves, against one
who had sat so peaceably in the midst of them in the
Temple. "But now is My kingdom" added our Lord,
" not from hence " (John). That His kingdom was not of
the world, is what our Lord had before declared to all His
disciples, " ye are not of the world, as I am not of the
world ; but because I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you." His kingdom is not of
the world, nor is it from the world, but out of Heaven ;
for it is no other than that Holy City, which St. John saw
" coming down cut of Heaven," " the tabernacle of God,"
to be " with men." If it had been an earthly Kingdom,
it would have needed the help of armies and men ; but a
Heavenly Kingdom is sufficient in itself, and needs not
these, but arms of a more ethereal temper. It is indeed in
the world, but not of the world, nor from the world, but

196 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

from Heaven. Its ministers, its Sacraments, are of Divine
appointment. The graces of all its members are from
above, not from hence. It has indeed established itself
in the midst of the kingdom of Satan in order to over-
throw it, to take from it the armour wherein it trusted ;
but it is not from hence, nor of human means.

But though the Governor understood not the full pur-
port of our Lord's words, yet on hearing Him speaking of
His kingdom, the words arrested his ear: "Pilate there-
fore said to Him, Art Thou a King then 1" (John), as if
this declaration in some way accounted for the charge of
the Jews. And perhaps at this time repeating the question
more distinctly, " Pilate " (Mark, Luke), " the Governor "
(Matt.), " aslted Him, saying, Art Thou the King of the
Jews ? " (Matt., Mark, Luke.) " He answered" in the words
of that solemn attestation recorded in all the Gospels,
" Thou sayest " (Matt,, Mark, Luke, John). So important
was this declaration which is here judicially made and
repeated, that God had fulfilled His promise by all the
Prophets, and had set His King on His holy hill of Sion.
" Thou sayest" St. John continues, " that I am a King.
I loos born for this purpose, and for this purpose came 1
into the ivorld, that I should bear witness unto the truth "
(John).

This attestation of our blessed Lord's is the very pattern
for all martyrdom, as St. Paul implies, for he speaks of it
as of His " witnessing before Pontius Pilate a good con-
fession." And here Christ declares that which was His
own great office, viz. to bear witness ; and in union with
Himself, that of the Holy Spirit also, Who is "the faithful
Witness." In this as in all other things, our Lord is
pleased to admit His Apostles to partake in some sense in
His own office, saying to them, " ye also shall bear

THE CHARGE OF BEING A KING 197

witness," and His Church, which is to be a " witness unto
all nations :" for it is He in it, and He in them, and there-
fore as He is the Witness, they also are witnesses. He is
essential Truth in some substantial, ineffable, and ever
enduring manner, in distinction from which " all men are
liars." It is therefore as if He had said, all the world lies
in falsehood and vanity, and they, who follow any of its
ways, will so far find at last " a lie in their right hand ;"
the kings of the world, and all pertaining to them, are but
shadows and vanity. I alone am the true King; Mine
alone is the true Kingdom ; I alone have the tine riches,
true power, true life, true light. " Every one" continues
our blessed Lord, "who is of the truth, heareth My voice."
The very test and proof of the character of each, of the
mode in which he has been dealing with himself, of the
life he has led, of the duties he has fulfilled, of the dispo-
sition he has attained unto, of the degree in which he loves
God, and loves his neighbour, the very test and proof of
all this is, whether he hears the voice of Christ. He has
Himself declared that His sheep know His voice ; that
they who hear Him not, are not of God. He who believes
in Christ fulfils all righteousness, he who believes Him
not, is in sin.

Pilate, on hearing these words, was probably struck at
the Divine authority and superhuman wisdom of our
Lord's mode of speaking. He for a moment forgets his
office as judge, and becomes His disciple. "Pilate sit it ft
unto Him, Wliat is truth ?" What is that on which you
speak in such awful terms ? " Thus," St. Chrysostom
says, "by saying these things He attracts and persuades
him to listen to His discourse j and therefore at last led
him on to ask Him this question, 'What is truth?'"
"He not only liberates him from his fears," says St.

198 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

Cyril, "but engages him to lofty thoughts concerning
Himself" And what was the truth to which He had
come to bear testimony but this, that of His kingdom?
" For this end," says St. Chrysostom, " was I born, to
persuade men of this truth." And the same writer ob-
serves, that He shows His humility in that, "when accused
of being a malefactor He bore it in silence ; but when
interrogated concerning His kingdom, then He spake to
Pilate, instructing him, and leading him on to higher
things7." Nor can we wonder that He who took such
pains even with Judas, would do all to recover an ignorant
Gentile. Besides this, it seems to represent, in mystery,
the Gentiles, who seem to have been asking so long of
nature and philosophy, "What is truth?" and now He has
come Who can alone answer them, if they will patiently
listen to His voice.

But after asking this question, Pilate suddenly recol-
lecting himself and the business he was about, saw clearly
that the charge of the Jews was a frivolous and vain one ;
and therefore rushed out without waiting for an answer.
St. Austin 8 thinks that the reason of this abruptness was,
that Pilate now perceived that it was envy on the part of
the Chief Priests, and that therefore the thought suddenly
occurred to him, of his being able to make an appeal to
the people, and to release a prisoner on the occasion of the
Festival. And the account in St. John, taken by itself
alone, would very well have borne out this supposition.
But it appears from St. Luke, and indeed from the general
narrative, that the sending to Herod must have intervened,
which would quite do away with that suggestion of St.
Austin's. But if we agree with St. Austin on this point,
then we must explain it thus, that all this charge of our
f In Joan. Horn. Ixxxiii, 8 In Joan. Tr. cxv.

THE CHARGE OF BEING A KING 199

Lord being a King, was subsequent to his sending Him
to Herod ; and that before that time the charge only was
of His " stirring up," and " perverting the people " in a
general way.

Pilate, " when lie had said this, went out again to the
Jeivs, and saithunto them, I find no fault in Him" (John).
" Pilate said to the Chief Priests and the crowd" says St.
Luke, " I find no fault in this Man" At this time it
probably is that St. Matthew and St. Mark speak of their
becoming so clamorous, and of our Lord's remarkable
silence. " And when " (Matt.) "the Chief Priests " (Matt.,
Mark) "and the Elders " (Matt.) " accused Him " (Matt.,
Mark) " of many things " (Mark), " He answered nothing "
(Matt.). Making no defence or denial, as a prisoner natu-
rally would against false charges, when Pilate returned to
Him from the Chief Priests to mention the accusations, or
had brought Him forth to confront them. " It is evident,"
says Origen, "that Pilate was kindly disposed towards
Christ, but yet he had no settled judgment, and was
wavering, and when inclining to the worse opinion, the
Lord answered him nothing." " Pilate again asked Him,
saying, Ansioerest Thou nothing ?" (Mark.) " Hearest Thou
not " (Matt.) " how many tilings they testify against Thee 1
But He (Jesus still,'' Mark) " answered not " (Matt., Mark)
"even a single word" (Matt.). As if to say, that if by
accusations which they knew to be false, they wished to
take away His life, He offered Himself up a voluntary
Victim to them. " So that Pilate " (Mark), " the Gover-
nor" (Matt.), thinking how easily our Lord might refute
such charges, "marvelled" (Matt., Mark) "greatly"
(Matt.). " He marvelled," says Theophylact, " that being
a teacher of the Law, powerful and eloquent, He did not
by His answers refute their charges, but rather man fully

200 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

sustained them." We may also suppose that there was
something in our Lord's manner and words, so different
from what is usual in a criminal, that the Judge felt some-
thing of awe and wonder before Him. " The expression,"
says Origen, " not only that Pilate marvelled, but that he
marvelled greatly, moves me to think, that it appeared to
him a great miracle, that when brought forward on a
capital charge, Christ should continue undisturbed, and
stand before death, which among all men is esteemed
terrible V Nothing would have moved a Koman so much
as fearlessness of death ; it was therefore perhaps so
ordained, that the Roman should witness this quality of
intrepidity in Christ ; and that God should appeal to him
through that virtue, for the shadow of which he was him-
self so eminent. Quesnel speaks of this silence as some-
thing more wonderful even than miracles, from its evident
effect on the Governor. In another point of view perhaps
the silence of Christ may represent us, who before our
Judge must put our hand upon our mouth, and be silent,
as guilty sinners ; for Christ's readiness to die implied
that He was, in our place, bearing sin.

Now from St. Matthew and St. Mark we have found
them accusing our Lord of many things, but the charges
are not recorded, as being unimportant; but one thing
they now mentioned arrested the Governor's attention.
For on his saying that he could find no fault substantiated,
" they were urgent, and said, He stirreth up the people,
teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to
this place. Pilate, when he heard of Galilee, inquired if
the Man were a Galilean." It occurred to him that he
might get rid of the question, and also further ends of his
own, in effecting a reconciliation with Herod by this mark
9 Comm. iu Matt. 119.

CHRIST SENT TO HEROD 201

of deference. Half conscience-stricken, half moved by
self-interest, he was like that other Governor, Felix, before
St. Paul, who trembled at " temperance and judgment to
come," and yet soon after endeavoured to obtain a bribe
from him. "And when he knew that He was of Herod's
jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who also was himself
at Jerusalem in these days " (Luke). And here again, as
in every step, the malice of the Jews is overruled to great
and Divine purposes, for by mentioning Galilee, they
thought more to excite the attention of the Governor ; for
that people, as Theophylact observes, was then given to
insurrections. Judas, who is mentioned in the Acts of
the Apostles, was of Galilee ; and the blood of thoso
Galileans which "Pilate mingled with their sacrifices,"
was shed on account of some sedition. But it was thus
ordained that wicked Herod also should have a hand in
His death, after having slain His herald and Prophet.

CHRIST SENT TO HEROD

THIS Herod Antipas, to whom our Saviour was sent, was
the same who had heard John the Baptist " gladly," and
had done " many things because of him ;" and had after-
wards imprisoned him, and put him to death ; and when
he had heard of the miracles of Christ, he thought it was
the Baptist, whom he had beheaded, risen from the grave:
it was stated also at that time that he was " desirous to
see Him 10." His character is given by our Lord Himself,
Who spoke of him as " that fox ll." " But Herod, when
lie saw Jesus " thus brought before him, " was exceeding
glad : for lie had been for a long time desirous to see Him,
»° Ministry, 2nd Your, p. 335. >l Ministry, 3rd Year, p. 320.

202 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

for he had heard many things of Him ; and tie hoped to see
some miracle done by Him " (Luke). Not only must he
have heard much, as being the governor of Galilee, but
even the wife of his own steward was one of our Lord's
devoted followers ; so that from those about him, he would
have heard of some of our Lord's most remarkable miracles,
and from persons who would have narrated them with
much interest. One would apprehend he was in that
most fearful state into which persons sometimes fall, when
they have had their feelings once excited on the subject of
religion, but still keep their vices ; and who continue to
entertain an interest and curiosity in matters of religion,
having lost godly fear. For he actually wished to see a
sign, as if from curiosity, without any apprehension of the
power of God, which such a sign would indicate. Not
stern and cruel as his father had been, but wily, having
first deceived himself, and then deceiving others ; and
from thence led on to suppose that he could deceive God.
" Not," says Theophylact, " as likely to derive any advan-
tage from beholding Him? but from the desire of novelty,
to see a stranger of whose wisdom and miracles he had
heard : and curious to hear what He had to say, by
questioning Him in derision and mockery." But what
strange wickedness of every kind is here brought out.
Pilate knows Him to be innocent, but has not courage to
acquit Him, and for a political friendship will sacrifice
Him : Herod, by wishing to see a miracle done by Him,
acknowledges His being a teacher from God, with power
of miracles, but only to mock Him.

To one in such a state we need not wonder that our
Lord had nothing to say; Herod "questioned Him in
many words, but He answered him nothing " (Luke) : still
observing that most remarkable silence which He had

CHRIST SENT TO HEROD 203

maintained before the High Priest and before Pilate.
And surely no state can be so awful as that in which men
no longer hear the voice of God speaking to them.
Throughout His trial indeed occasionally He spake, as
if to prevent any appearance of sullen reserve, or to com-
municate some great truth in charity, but for the most
part was silent. So that of this His silence, St. Chry-
sostom observes, that it was indeed fulfilling the expression
of Solomon, that " there is a time to keep silence, and a
time to speak V This silence and speech, so wonderfully
adapted in Divine wisdom, are both described by the
Psalmist, — " I kept silence, yea, even from good words ;"
and also, " I will open my mouth in parables ;" and at
another time, "My tongue is the pen of a ready writer."
Thus, as Theophylact observes, "Jesus, Who did all
things by reason, and, as David says, directed His words
in wisdom, thought it pious in such things to keep silence.
For speech put forth to him whom it profits not, is cause
of his condemnation." " He was silent," says St. Am-
brose, " and did nothing ; for they deserved not to hear
Divine things ; and the Lord avoided display. And per-
haps typically in Herod all the wicked are represented,
who, if they believed not the Law and the Prophets,
could not behold the wonderful works of Christ in the
Gospel" And Gregory 2 says, that from " these things
we ought to learn, that whenever our hearers wish to hear
what we have to say, in order to praise, and not to amend
what is wrong, we should be altogether silent. For there
are many things which destroy the soul of the hearers,
• •si'i'i-.ially if our hearers praise what they hear, and do not
follow what they praise."

But " the Chief Pi-iests and the Scribes " would of course
1 Eccles. iii. 7. 2 Moral, xxii. 11.

204 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

have accompanied Christ to Herod through the streets of
the city, as they had before dragged Him from the palace
of Caiaphas to Pilate, and were now, we may suppose,
become more vehement from the impediment they had
met with in Pilate. They "stood and vehemently accused
Him " (Luke). But here again they do not seem to have
succeeded in establishing any charge against Him, which
Herod could take hold of, as a just pretext for putting
Him to death. Herod was not himself a person to take
the lead in an open and bold crime : and possibly the
circumstance of the Feast might have prevented him also
from gratifying the Jews by shedding blood. For we find
in the Acts of the Apostles that his nephew Herod Agrippa
put Peter in prison, keeping him through the days of
unleavened bread, "intending after Easter to bring him
forth to the people V " But Herod" partly instigated by
the violence of the Chief Priests, and partly by being
disappointed in the object of his curiosity, and from that
wanton hatred of goodness which bad men entertain,
" set Him at nought with his men of war, and mocked Him
having put on Him a white shining robe " (Luke) ; such as
Eastern kings wear, whence " the glory of Solomon " is
compared for its whiteness to " the lilies of the field V
They therefore unwittingly acknowledge Him as King,
and array Him unconsciously in the kingly robe of inno-
cence, after a faint similitude of that His own raiment,
white as snow and glistering, with which He was invested
at His Transfiguration.

"It was not without a meaning," says St. Ambrose,

" that He was clothed in a white robe by Herod, giving

tokens of His spotless Passion ; in that the Lamb of God

without spot, with His glory took upon Him the sins of

3 Acts xii. 4. * St. Matt. vi. 29.

CHRIST SENT TO HEROD 205

the world6." And as Theophylact observes, — " The very
derision which the devil heaped upon Him, and the white,
robe with which He was clothed in mockery, were involun-
tary declarations of His innocence ; inasmuch as if there
had been any fault in Him, their reproaches would have
assumed the shape of some allusion to it." But, with
regard to the mystery contained in this transaction, per-
haps in this case, as well as in the mockery of Pilate's
soldiers, the investing of our Lord with these mock-kingly
robes, might indicate that the Kingdoms had gone from
Hi rod, and from Caesar, unto Himself: that of the Jews
and the Gentiles He was from henceforth to be Himself
Iln> King. Thus, though they meant it not, and knew it
not, yet do the Jews and Herod act the part of the
l^vptians and Pharaoh, while our Lord is seen in the
great type of Joseph. " And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy

word shall all my people be ruled And Pharaoh

said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of
Egypt. And Pharaoh arrayed him in vesture of fine

linen And they cried before him, Bow the knee6."

But Pharaoh and the Egyptians were far better, for they
did it in good will to the type only of all goodness, but
Herod and the Jews in mockery and malice to goodness
itself.

And now, after they had vented their malice in re-
proaches and insult, Herod "sent Him back to Pilate"
uncondenmed. And here it must be again remarked how
it was ordered and brought about, by the mysterious pro-
vidence of God, that all things should combine to speak
aloud His innocence. Before the High Priest the wit-
nesses could not agree, and could prove nothing : Judas
5 Exp. in Luc. x. 103. • Gen. xli. 39-^3.

206 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

himself declared that he had betrayed the innocent blood:
Pilate repeatedly declared that he could find no fault in
Him : nor yet Herod ; the Jews accused Him before him,
but in vain. There were two charges only that could be
put forth against Him, and those were His own declara-
tions : the first, that He was the Son of God, and the last,
that He was the King of the Jews. So shall it be at the
day of Judgment, the perfect justice of God shall be
acknowledged by every tongue : every mouth shall be
stopped: God shall be true, and every man a liar: —
" That Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest,
and be clear when Thou judgest V

Observe also, that as our Lord had spared no pains to
bring Judas to a sense of his crime, so does He appear
throughout to have done every thing for the Jews, to bring
them to repentance. Such was His expostulation on first
being taken ; such His speech to the Council ; such the
death and declaration of Judas ; such the remonstrances
of Pilate, and his washing his hands, and such the very
mockeries of Herod. Perhaps in this manner, in His
moral providence, warnings are always given to persons in
the course of sin, but they have no eyes to see, nor ears to
hear. And when sinners are by any means suddenly
awakened to a sense of their condition, they come to an
instinctive consciousness of this ; so much so, that when
their minds are as yet ill-regulated, they fancy they hear
supernatural voices, and see sights of warning ; whereas,
long before, the voice of God was in fact speaking to them
in all things, though they observed it not; now they know
it, but in alarm know not where to look for it. Under
such circumstances, the light that falls on the path of
duty is our only protection ; the warnings it shows us on
7 Ps. li. 4.

CHRIST SENT TO HEROD 207

all sides are doubtless from God, and sent to us in Hie
mercy.

Observe also how all things combine to speak the need
of a sacrifice, and the great corruption of our nature : the
covetousness and malice of Judas, the expediency and
anger of Caiaphas, the policy and cowardice of Pilate, the
scorn and mockery of Herod, the envy of Pharisees, the
cruelty of soldiers, the madness of the multitude, nay,
even we may add the unfaithfulness of St. Peter, and
weakness of all the disciples ; — all show the power of the
Evil one, which our Lord overcame in this conflict.

And now the sacred Evangelist, in recording our blessed
Lord's being brought back to Pilate, adds, that "Pilate
and Herod were made friends on the same day with each
other, for they had been before at enmity between them-
selves" (Luke). The less important this incident may
appear towards the unfolding of the momentous narrative
of our Lord's death, the more is one inclined to look for
some great principle or mysterious prophetic intimation
contained in it. St. Ambrose suggests that this may
relate prophetically to the ultimate reconciliation between
the Gentile and the Jew. The same thought is pursued
by Quesnel, who says, — " In a very little time, 0 Jesus,
Thy death will reconcile and unite together, not only a
Gentile and a Jew, but Jews and Gentiles, by one and the
same faith, in one and the same Body, and under one and
the same Head 8." This interpretation is a charitable one:
but does it not seem a friendship of worldly persons formed
at the expense of Christ ; and are there not other indica-
tions of the same thing in Pharisees, and Herodians, and
Sadducees, combining together, who "before were at
enmity between themselves," in a common alliance against
8 On St. Luke. c^i. xxiii.

208 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

Christ? May it not allude to some great and universal
principle, that worldly persons of all parties will drop their
mutual enmities in order to combine against Christ and
His truth, whenever it is to he found among mankind ?
This sentiment of old writers is found in the Ven. Bede,
who says that the alliance of Herod and of Pilate signifies
that Gentiles and Jews, persons differing in race, and re-
ligion, and mind, agree together in persecuting Christians.
But the wanton cruelty and enmity of so many parties
against the adorable Son of God, if merely considered as
directed towards an innocent and helpless person of great
holiness, is worthy of deep reflection, as indicative of
something in the corrupt nature of us all. For it can
scarcely be supposed that the circumstances, openly alleged
against our Lord, were of themselves sufficient to account
for the enmity and ill-treatment He met with : one would
be disposed to think that the circumstances alleged were
rather the symptoms than the causes of that enmity.
Origen, on the Psalms 9, has the following striking passage :
" He who is bent to think and to act aright hath many
adversaries. For there are both men and devils full of
envy, who are grieved at the good of those who act aright.
Perceiving this, the Prophet attributeth not to himself the
power to contend against his enemies ; but hath besought
God to stretch forth His hand over him to shelter him,
and keep him unhurt from enemies so many, and so great,
saying, Lord, lead me in Thy righteousness, for thus only
can my ways be rightly directed in Thy sight !" The
sentiment, which is contained in this passage, will perhaps
serve better to account for the hatred which our blessed
Lord and good men have met with, than any attempting
to explain it from secondary causes. For it is often spoken
9 Select vn Psalmos, v. 8.

CHRIST REJECTED BY THE PEOPLE 209

of, as a great invariable maxim, that they who would live
godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution. The same
principle, considering the agency of evil spirits as well as
evil men in this matter, will be the best key to other
events of the like kind in history. And there appears to
be much thought in what Origen says here of the motive
of their persecution, — that it is envy. For perhaps this
word will best express it both in evil spirits and evil men.
For out of envy of the devil sin entered into the world ;
and the violence of the Pharisees is here expressly attri-
buted to envy : and envy is frequently mentioned in the
Acts, as the instigating cause against Christianity.

Throughout the whole of these circumstances, at every
step we are obliged to pause with wonder, as we observe
the development of the two great mysteries, — the mystery
of godliness, and the mystery of iniquity. Here they
both come forth in their great consummation, and appear
throughout doubly mysterious. And they are both in the
strongest sense mysteries ; for they both mark the active
presence of agents spiritual. Almighty God overruling
for good ; Satan working evil. Satan displaying wicked-
ness so great as to be almost incomprehensible ; Almighty
God in every case converting evil into good.

CHRIST REJECTED BY THE PEOPLE

ON the return from Herod, "Pilate called together the
Chief Priests and the Rulers" of the Sanhedrim, " and the
people, and said unto them, Te have brought this Man unto
me, as one that perverteth the people : and behold, I have
examined Him before you, and have found no fault in this
Man, concerning those matters of which ye accuse Him"

p

210 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

(Luke). As I stated this to some of you before, so I now
repeat it in presence of you all here assembled. And in,
addition to my own judgment in this matter, there is now
also that of Herod. " Nor yet hath Herod " found any
fault in Him ; "for I sent you to him, and lo, nothing
worthy of death is done unto Him" which proves that
neither before him have ye been able to substantiate any
thing. " / will therefore chastise Him, and release Him "
(Luke).

It is evident that this would not satisfy the Priests and
Elders, and perhaps from knowing this, Pilate had on this
occasion summoned the people together with them. But
" the multitude " now assembled had their thoughts full of
another matter, and " crying out to him began to demand
of him that he would do as he was always wont at the
Feast " (Mark). For " at the Feast he was always wont to
release one prisoner " (Matt., Mark) " to the multitude,
whom they would" (Matt.), or "whomsoever they de-
manded " (Mark) ; indeed, " he was under a necessity of
releasing unto them one at the Feast " (Luke), as a privilege
granted them by the Romans ; and their minds were then
fully bent on one, whom they desired to release, for " they
had then a notorious prisoner, named Barabbas " (Matt.).
But Pilate having now clearly perceived the nature of the
case ; "for he observed that they " (i. e. " the Chief Priests,"
Mark) "had delivered Him up from envy" (Matt., Mark),
thought of the expediency of referring the matter to the
people, which this occasion furnished him with the oppor-
tunity of doing. He therefore came forth and said unto
them, " Ye have a custom that I release unto you one at the
Passover" (John), "are ye willing therefore that I release
unto you the King of the Jews?" (Mark, John.) It may
be observed that he keeps continually repeating this term,

CfTRIST REJECTED BY THE PEOPLE '211

" the King of the Jews," which he does as an expression
of his contempt for so unreasonable a charge, though his
tongue was governed therein by a mysterious Providence.
He then formally put the question to the people, giving
out the names of both : " Whom will ye that I release unto
you, Barabbas? or Jesus who is called Christ ? " (Matt.)

Now considering how the people had publicly received
Christ on the preceding Sunday, being touched with the
gracious miracles He had wrought, especially that of rais-
ing Lazarus to life ; and how on the following days in the
Temple they had " hung upon " His most awful but not
less gracious words, so that the Chief Priests did not dare
to apprehend Him : it might have been thought that they
would now have required His release. But those who
were really deeply moved by His doctrine would have been
the least loud and prominent in such a multitude, being
more in secret : and in large bodies of men and popular
assemblies good is smothered, the bad predominant : good
principle is despised by the wicked, and the weak are
ashamed of it : moreover, on this subject of Barabbas, they
were seditiously excited, and perhaps nationally. " The
Chief Priests" (Matt., Mark), therefore, "and the Elders"
(Matt.) "stirred up" (Mark) and "persuaded" (Matt.)
" the multitude " (Matt., Mark) " that they should aslcfor
Barabbas" (Matt.), " that he would release Barabbas unto
them" (Mark), " and should destroy Jesus " (Matt.). The
circumstances might be very well accounted for by the
change of impulse to which the popular voice is subject; and
indeed it is a true, but sad, picture of the changes in the
hearts of individuals at all times ; our feelings are often
such that they would join in Hosannas to-day, and to-
morrow, in the time of visitation, cry out, " Crucify Him."
To this our blessed Lord often alluded in His teaching,

r 2

212 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

saying to these same Jews, " If ye abide in My Word, then
are ye My disciples indeed."

This appeal of Pilate to the multitude is an appeal to
" the many," and the many are they who walk, as Origen
here observes, the broad way to destruction. The voice of
the many must, it may be supposed, be in general against
Christ. And here is strongly marked the difference
between a popular appeal — an appeal to what is popular —
and that Universal Consent which has been considered in
all ages the test of truth. Such was it esteemed to be
among heathen philosophers of old, and God has made it
to be so in an especial manner in His Church. For by an
universal consent of all parties, against their own private
passions, prejudices, and wishes, Christ was declared inno-
cent ; by the false witnesses, who could prove nothing, by
Judas's confession, by Pilate, by Herod, by the thief on
the cross, by the conduct of the Chief Priests. At the
same time, by the popular voice He is condemned to death.

It may be also an extensive maxim that the Church will
be sacrificed by .worldly-minded Killers to the popular
voice, as in the case of Saul, who was perhaps a type of
the Caesars of the world, " because " he " feared the people
and obeyed their voice V Yet, at the same time perhaps,
under a pretext of good, for Saul first said unto Samuel,
" I have obeyed the voice of the Lord."

This privilege of releasing one at the Feast was not, as
Theophylact observes, a Roman practice in itself, but a
privilege which the Romans granted, in compliance with
a Jewish custom. Origen mentions that this was a part of
Roman policy towards their subjugated states, in order to
rivet more closely their chains, and that the practice had
formerly existed among the Jews. Both of these writers
1 1 Sam. xv. 24, and 20.

CHRIST REJECTED BY THE PEOPLE 213

mention the instance of the people begging of Saul the life
of Jonathan. And what does this signify but that at this
great Festival, the true Passover, we, to whom death is
due, are let go free ? Christ is taken, we, who are guilty,
like Barabbas, escape.

Pilate, after a short interval, came forward to demand a
reply to his formal proposition. " The Governor answered
and said unto them, WJiich of the two will ye that I release
unto you? But they said, Barabbas" (Matt.). And as
Pilate, either by expression or manner, suggested to them
Jesus, who was probably standing bound before them,
" They all, with the whole multitude, cried out, saying,
Away with this Man, and release unto us Barabbas " (Luke).
Upon this, " Pilate wishing to satisfy the people," " that
is," says Theophylact, "to do their will, and not that
which was pleasing to justice and to God " — wishing to
satisfy the people, he "releases Barabbas unto them"
(Mark). " Now Barabbas," says St. John, " was a robber;"
and St. Luke, that " he had been cast into prison on account
of some insurrection which had happened in the city, and
for murder" And St. Peter describes it thus, " ye denied
the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be
granted unto you V And St. Mark says, that " he was
bound together with his fellow conspirators, who had com-
mitted murder in the insurrection" Wherein it may be
further noticed, that the contrast between Barabbas and
Christ is not simply in his being a murderer, preferred to
the Prince of Life, but also a seditious person ; one who,
like Satan himself, stirs up others to crimes and death.
St. Chrysostom says of him, that he was a notorious per-
son, " notorious for many murders." And, in fact, their
demanding the acquittal of a murderer is but the parallel
2 Acts iii. 14.

214 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

to their requiring the death of an innocent person, as St.
Ambrose observes ; — for it is but the very same law of
iniquity, that they which hate innocence should love crime.
They rejected therefore the Prince of Heaven, and chose
a robber, and a murderer, and an insurrectionist, and
they received the object of their choice ; so was it given
them, for insurrections and murders did not fail them till
the last, when their city was destroyed in the midst of
murders and insurrections, which they now demanded of
the Koman Governor. Ancient writers notice that
Barabbas is, by interpretation, " the son of a father," and
with this mysterious import our blessed Lord had said,
" Ye are of your father the devil, who was a murderer
from the beginning," " and the lusts of your father ye will
do." " At the exhortation of the Priests," says St. Hilary,
" the people chose Barabbas, which is, by interpretation,
the son of a father ; in which is set forth the secret of
their infidelity in preferring Antichrist, the son of sin, to
Christ 3." And St. Ambrose speaks to the same effect *.

There is another allusion that suggests itself to one, not
contrary to, nor superseding this, but additional to it. As
Jonathan was demanded of Saul, his father, by the people ;
so Barabbas, the son of a father, is demanded by the people
of Caesar ; and Caesar is now to them as Saul was, as being
the King which they chose in preference to God. And
the king of Eome is the king of that city which represents
the world, and wars and murders. Of this their king
therefore they demanded the son of a father, i e. Barabbas.
Barabbas therefore is as the pon of the ruler of this world,
is as the son of their own Caesar, their chosen king,
although he be himself a Jew. For the same reasons also,
and in the same manner, we must consider Barabbas as the

3 Com. in Mat. xxxiii. 2. 4 Tn Lucam, lib. xi.

CHRIST REJECTED BY THE PEOPLE 215

son of their father, the devil, who is the spiritual ruler of
this world. They choose therefore the son of the temporal,
and the son of the spiritual ruler of this world, which lieth
in wickedness, and is at enmity with God. And in all
these points Barabbas may be considered as a type of
Antichrist. It has been supposed that Antichrist also will
be a Jew, and that he will come forth from Rome ; he will
doubtless be in an especial manner the son of his father
the devil, and preferred before the Prince of Life.

From this time we hear no more expressions concerning
Barabbas from the crowd, and therefore we conclude that
Barabbas was at this time given unto them ; and, receiving
a murderer, they become the more bent on murder and
bloodshed: but it is possible that the formal release of
Barabbas might have been later. The Evangelists here
introduce it, " And Pilate decided that their request should
be granted " (Luke), " and he released unto them " (Matt.,
Mark, Luke) "Barabbas" (Matt., Mark), "him that on
account of sedition and murder had been cast into prison,
wlwm they desired " (Luke).

" But Pilate, wishing to release Jesus," and for this pur-
pose wishing to inspire them with shame, says Origen,
and also to mark the measure of their impiety, — " again
addressed them aloud " (Luke), " What therefore shall I
do" (Matt.), "would ye that I should do" (Mark), "with
Jesus who is called Christ?" (Matt.) " Him whom ye call
the King of the Jews " (Mark). " They all say unto him,
Let Him be crucified " (Matt.) : " they again cried out,
Crucify Him" (Mark), and continued "exclaiming, Cru-
cify Him, crucify Him " (Luke). Not merely requiring
the release of a guilty person and a murderer, but a good
Man's death, and that, too, most steadfastly. After this
Pilate again came forward, "and said unto them a third

THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

time" (Luke), " Why, what evil hath He done?" (Matt.,
Mark, Luke). " But they cried out the more vehemently "
(Matt., Mark), " Crucify Him " (Mark) ; « let Him be cru-
cified" (Matt.). But Pilate proceeded, "/ have found no
cause of death in Him " (Luke). And then, returning to
the intention he had expressed, "before he had appealed to
the people's choice, and they had demanded Barabhas, he
repeats his former words, " / shall therefore chastise Him
and release Him" (Luke xxiii. 16 and 22). He then
proceeds to put his purpose into execution.

He had in this made two separate appeals to the people,
one in offering our blessed Lord instead of Barabbas ; and
when they chose Barabbas, he seems to have given them a
new and unusual offer of sparing Christ also. " When
they asked for the robber," says St. Chrysostom, " he said,
' What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ ? '
wishing to commit the matter to their authority, in order
that from very shame and vanity they might ask Him off.
For to reason with them only rendered them the more
contentious ; but to commit His preservation to their
humanity was the strongest means of persuasion. But
even then they cried out, ' Let Him be crucified.' " The
same writer says, " petition for the condemned is usually
the part of the people, and concession that of the Prince :
but here it is the reverse ; the Governor makes the peti-
tion, the people are rendered the more fierce."

And then arose their fearful cries. Thrice did Pilate
appeal to them, and thrice did they demand His terrible
death. The whole multitude, and with one voice, and
that by a threefold repetition, adding confirmation to their
choice. " It was," says Theophylact, " by this threefold
voice that they might approve of the murder of Christ,
which they had demanded and extorted." This, their

THE SCOURGING 217

tremendous and fierce cry, St. Cyril considers to be that
roar of the lion which the Prophet speaks of : "I have
given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hands of hei
enemies. Mine heritage is unto Me as a lion in the forest,
it crieth out against Me V And he thus describes this
figure, which is so strongly expressive of their fierce-
ness • : "It may be well to mention what the lion does in
the forest. For they say that when he wishes to hunt
down any creature in the woods, that this great and most
terrible beast, raising himself on some promontory in the
mountains, roars in a loud and horrible manner ; and
creates so great a shudder in those that hear it, that, unable
to withstand the threatening and fearful sound, they imme-
diately fall, whether man or any other animal, and drop to
the ground at the mere voice alone of the beast ; which
God confirms in a manner, by His Prophet, * the lion hath
roared, who will not fear 7 1 ' " Thus were they, as the
Psalmist says, " like a lion that is greedy of his prey ;" but
the lion's voice itself is feeble, indeed, to express this most
terrible and hideous cry of mankind : " I have heard the
blasphemy of the multitude ; and fear is on every side,
while they conspire together against Me, and take their
counsel to take away My life V

THE SCOURGING

ON this subject, of the scourging of our Most Holy Lord,
there are two points which require to be mentioned. First
of all, that this is not that infliction which usually pre-
ceded crucifixion, and was considered to form a part of
that punishment, but independent of it, and brought out
» Jer. xii. 7, 8. • Joan. lib. xii. 40. 7 Amos iii. 8. 8 ljs. xx*i. 15,

218 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

into a more distinct and separate act by greater severity.
Secondly, that there appears no reason to believe that it
was afterwards repeated, as some have supposed ; a repeti-
tion which probably no sufferer would have been capable
of sustaining. Our Lord's prophetic declaration, that the
Gentiles should " scourge Him and crucify Him ;" by the
two expressions, of both "scourging and crucifying,"
seems to indicate these two separate circumstances ; and
that " the scourging," here alluded to, was distinct from
the tortures accompanying the crucifixion, of a nature so
terrible as to be thus strongly recorded with it. And St.
Matthew and St. Mark mention that Pilate delivered Him
up to be crucified, having first " scourged Him," using the
Koman word for that punishment9. And it may be
observed, that since Pilate had this intention, after the
return from Herod, his words are not that he " found no
fault," as he had said before *, but " nothing worthy of
death 2 :" indicating that he would consent to the lighter
infliction. His reason might have been, that it would be
unworthy of a Eoman Governor to put to death without
cause \ but like Lysias, the chief captain, in the Acts 8, he
had no hesitation to inflict scourging without any offence
being proved or apparent. His motive was, that he thought
the spectacle of so terrible an infliction as that of scourging,
would move them to commiseration.

It is very clear that this is the scourging and mockery
which St. John records, for it appears from this account
that Pilate had not at that time determined on crucifying
Him, for this the Chief Priests then demanded, and aftet
that Pilate " sought to release Him." And although the
account of the scourging in St. Matthew and St. Mark may

8 $paye\\<a<ras. 1 Luke xxiii. 4. John xviii. 38.

* Luke xxiii. 15 and 22. s Acts xxii. 24.

THE SCOURGING 219

appear to speak of a different period, yet unless we sup-
pose that the circumstances of the mockery, the crown of
thorns, and the purple robe, were all twice repeated, Avhich
seems quite incredible, we must conclude that they are
describing the same occurrence as this in St. John, and
that it took place as he states, before our Lord was con-
demned to be crucified. The account is indeed introduced
in St. Matthew by the word "then," as if immediately
following on His condemnation to death : but we have
often occasion to show that the particle " then " in the
Gospels, and especially in St. Matthew's Gospel, is not
determinate of time. The account therefore is simply
this, that Pilate first appeals to them to liberate our Lord
as an innocent person ; then, as one released at the Pass-
over, as the accustomary boon to the people, even if not
innocent ; and thirdly, as one scourged, and already sufn
ciently punished. And certainly, as Pilate supposed, in
any ordinary case of envy and malice, so piteous a spec-
tacle would have been sufficient to move them. But man's
natural hatred of holiness is connected with an indefinable
fear, and fear leads to cruelty ; and doubtless evil spirits,
as well as evil men, were most earnest for His death.

St. Chrysostom, Origen, Augustin, Cyril, and others,
confirm this view, that " the scourging " was a distinct act
from the crucifixion. " This act of Pilate," says Augustin4,
" we must suppose, was for no other reason, but that the
Jews might thus be satiated with His sufferings, and so
desist from raging for His death." And again, " that His
enemies might be satisfied with their mockeries, and not
thirst for His blood." And Origen, in like manner, "that
when they saw what the soldiers had done, they might
pause a little from their passion, therefore he led Him
4 In Joan. Tract, cxvi.

220 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

forth thus crowned." Thus, while the unjust judge has
not courage to acquit Him whom he pronounces innocent,
even his compassions only serve to add to the afflictions
and sorrows of Jesus Christ.

"Then therefore" says the beloved disciple, that is,
after he had delivered up Barahhas to their choice,
" Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him" (John). " The
soldiers of the Governor took Jesus" (Matt.) (tand led
Him away within the hall " (Mark), " which is the Prce-
torium" (Matt., Mark), " and call" (Mark) "and bring to-
gether to Him" (Matt.) " the whole band" (Matt., Mark) :
as is usual to an execution of such a kind.

And now they first of all strip naked His adorable Per-
son ; and this was of itself no slight suffering to His most
Holy soul, to have His most chaste and virginal Body
stripped bare, as afterwards on the Cross. An infliction
which is partly implied in the expression of " the shame"
as well as the pain of that ignominious death ; and which
is of itself made a distinct subject of contemplation in
Bishop Andrews's meditations on the Passion and Death
of our Lord.

After this, as it is supposed, they proceed to bind Him
to a column ; this St. Jerome and Prudentius6 mention,
and the Yen. Bede likewise, probably from them, as a
pillar of marble. And this they did in order that He
might be more in the power of those that scourged Him,

* Prudentius thus speaks of it, Enchiridion, xli. : —

Here Christ stood bound, and to a pillar tied.
Gave, like a slave, His body to the scourge;
That venerable pillar still remains,
And bears a holy Temple, teaching us
That we may live in Him from scourges free.
"Ad columnam ligari." Bp. Andrews.

THE SCOURGING 221

which is said to have been with peculiar severity, for the
same reasons, whatever they might have been, which led
them to that singular refinement of torture, the crown of
thorns, and in order to satiate His bloodthirsty enemies on
whose account it was done. " Behold," says St. Augustin6,
" the Lord is fitted for the scourging ; behold now He is
scourged ; the violence of the stripes with repeated strokes
hath broken His sacred skin ; the cruel lashes of the
thongs cut His back. Oh, sad sight, God lieth extended
before men! and He suffereththe punishment of a criminal,
in whom no trace of sin could be found." This terrible
infliction we may well suppose was that being baptized in
blood of which our Lord spake. And after that the put-
ting on and taking off the cloak from His bleeding body,
as it stuck to His wounds, is supposed to have added to
His pains.

Now the soldiers, after the example of their own Go-
vernor and of the Jews, began to mock and insult Him for
the alleged charge brought against Him, of His being a
King, and to make mock insignia of royalty. "After
they had stripped Him" (Matt.) for the purpose of
scourging Him, " they clothed Him," St. Mark says, " with
purple ; " St. John says, " they threw over Him a purple
garment ;" but St. Matthew says that " they put on Him
a scarlet cloak." Some persons, and among them St.
Ambrose, have imagined this to mean two different
robes T. But perhaps the discrepancy may be easily re-
conciled by supposing that it was intended to represent

• In Serm. de Pass.

7 St. Ambrose translates St. Matthew's expression chlamydem
coccineam ; and paraphrases St. Mark's irop^vpav, purpuream tuni-
catm, as though this were the x*™^ or inner and close vest, the
j, being the outer and loose one.

222 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

the purple robe, but that the purple being an expensive
colour, and not easily procurable, it would be substituted
by some other colour resembling it, but perhaps less costly
and sumptuous in its quality, such as scarlet, and perhaps
it was some military cloak 8. To confirm this it may be
observed, that St. Matthew twice speaks of it under the
word (x\afivs) which signifies a military cloak. But on
such an occasion they would never be content to inflict
mockeries without pain, and if the rest of His body was
covered with stripes, His head was the only part which
was free from these marks of blood : so " the soldiers "
(John) "when they had platted a crown of thorns" (Matt.,
Mark, John), of the large thorns of that country, " they
placed it about His head " (Matt., John). Thus in addi-
tion to what He had already undergone, inflicting excru-
ciating agony, as well as mockery, on His most sacred
Person. Thus was He not in colour and appearance only,
but in reality " in a vesture dipped in blood '," coming
" with dyed garments from Bozrah1 ;" and stained was "all
His raiment V And now for a mock sceptre " they put a
reed in His right hand" (Matt.), and then "lowing the
knee before Him " (Matt.) " they began to salute Him "
(Mark), "and mocked Him, saying" (Matt.), "Hail, King
of the Jews I " (Matt., Mark, John). Such revilers would
not continue in these insults without adding wanton injury

9 Yet KOKKIVOS and irop^upo are often found together in Scripture
about the coverings of the Tabernacle, and in 2 Sam. i. 24, and
especially Lament, iv. 5, KOKKIVOS is used as a fine costly colour.
It is the word in the LXX. Isaiah i. 18, where our translators
render it "crimson." The French Test, renders both St. Matt.
KOKKIVOV and St. Mark and St. John iroptyvpav by the same word,
manteoM d'eca/rlate.

a Her. xix. 13. » Isa. briiL 1. * Isa. km. 3.

THE SCOURGING 223

also to indignities. Then " they took the reed" (Matt.)
from His hand, " and beat Him on the head " (Matt.,
Mark); which being probably not a mere hollow and
light reed, but as we shall have occasion to show, of a
hard substance, must have inflicted exquisite pain by
driving the thorns into His brow. " And they spit upon
Him" (Matt., Mark) ; and others " beat Him with the
jmlni* of their hands" (John) ; and others "kneeled down
and worshipped Him " (Mark), — either an act of adoration
which they showed to eastern Kings ; or, as some think,
from some intimation they had heard of His declaring
Himself the Christ, and the Son of God.

Thus was our Lord crowned, and this was His Corona-
tion-day. The hall of judgment was His Kingly court,
and these kneelers were His cG^rtiers. There was no part
of His most adorable Person, but was marked with suffer-
ing and indignity. His head was bleeding with the crown
of thorns, and beaten with the reed ; His Divine counte-
nance, from the brightness of which Angels hide their
eyes in adoration, before which the Heavens are not clean,
was defiled with spitting, and bruised with blows; His
back was mangled with the scourging of rude soldiers ;
His knees were already weak through fasting, and worn
with kneeling. His whole Sacred Body was exposed to
nakedness, and covered with the mockery of the purple
robe, as before it had been with the bloody sweat. His
tender neck was bruised and bowed with the weight of
the Cross. His holy hands were at this time given to the
mockery of the reed, and afterwards pierced and bleeding
with nails. His eyes were hurt with the sight of horrid
and malicious passions ; His ears with dreadful words and
rovilings. His mouth was afterwards " dried up like a
potsherd;" and His tongue cleaving unto His gums. And

224 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

worse than the iron that held Him in chains, or that
pierced His hands, those words that " like the piercings of
a sword " enter the soul. For "bodily inflictions we ca
estimate, but not so the pain of heart, and the wounds of
a righteous soul, on beholding and hearing the deeds of
the wicked. " The stroke of the whip maketh marks in
the flesh; but the stroke of the tongue breaketh the
bones. — The yoke thereof is a yoke of iron, and the
bands thereof are bands of brass. The death thereof is an
evil death, the grave were better than it 3."

Let us dwell on this amazing scene. The Giver of life
is called guilty of death ; the only innocent a malefactor ;
the Saviour of soul and body is set aside for a murderer ;
the Author of liberty is fast in bonds. But surely He that
suffers in this manner must have crimes upon Him which
Pilate knows not of; the Jews know not of them ; and the
devil knows not of them ; but eternal Justice in His own
secret counsels hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
His Sacred Body was all one wound for our sakes, because
there is no part of our body, but which ministers to sin.
Of us, His Israel, it is said, " from the sole of the foot
even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but
wounds and bruises and putrifying sores V And there-
fore, when taking upon Himself our penalty, He says in
our person, " My loins are filled with a sore disease, and
there is no whole part in My body." " My wickednesses
are gone over My head, and are like a sore burden, too
heavy for Me to bear6." He wore that mock crown on
account of our ambition ; and the thorns, of which it was
made, were on account of those worldly cares in us which
choke the good seed. His ears were full of reproaches on

3 Ecclus. xxviii. 17. 20, 21. 4 Isa. i. 6.

5 P3. xxxviii. 4.

THE SCOURGING 225

account of our love of flattery ; His face was defiled with
spitting on account of our personal vanity, which leads to
so much sorrow and sin. For the abuse of our liberty, He
is bound to the pillar ; for the pollution of our hands, His
are pierced with nails; and for our feet that have gone
astray, His are bleeding. His shame and nakedness is to
atone for our vain adornings. His silent patience is to
expiate our impatient murmurings and false excuses. The
lying accusations that are poured on Him are for our
calumnious reproaches of each other. And His tongue is
dried up for our evil language. For our desires to be
glorified, and admired in the assemblies of men, He is
brought forth by Pilate in derision and scorn, saying to
the assembled multitude, " Behold the Man ! "

When once, before this time, the multitude would have
made Him a King, He avoided and declined it ; but now
that His kingdom is to be one of this kind, He accepts it,
and puts on His robe and crown, when it is to be a robe
and crown of shame and pain ; and takes His sceptre
when it is given Him in derision, the reed with which Hia
holy Head was beaten.

And now if the disobedience of our members was thus
heavy on Him, shall not we mortify the same ? Woe to
those subjects of a Crucified King, who do not remember
these things ; and practise their own members in self-
denial, that they may thus yield them up to Him, who
gave up His innocent Body for us. The early Christians,
as we are told by Tertullian ", refused to wear festive
chaplots of flowers, from the memory of their Lord's
crown of thorns. Shall we not, in like manner, endea-
vour to bear the remembrance of Him in all our members,
if not in the suffering of pains, yet in the abandonment
6 De Corona, ix.

Q

226 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

of vain pleasures 1 " Every day," says our good Bishop
Wilson, " deny yourself some satisfaction : your eyes ob-
jects of mere curiosity ; your tongue every thing that may
feed vanity or vent enmity ; the palate dainties ; the ears
flattery, and whatever corrupts the heart ; the body ease
and luxury V We may add, that, in practising all these
things, our yoke is made easy, because Christ's yoke was
so heavy, for He bore our burden.

Our little self-denials are called bearing our cross, after
the similitude of His Passion ; and are said to be drinking
of His Cup and being baptized with His Baptism. To
Buffer for Him, or with Him, is like touching the hem of
His robe of blood, from which healing goeth forth : or
might we not almost say, being hidden and protected
under His garment ? Our " sins are as scarlet," they are
"red like crimson;" and scarlet and crimson is the robe
which He wears, namely, our sins. He wears our sins, in
order that we may wear His righteousness. He wears
them red and crimson, but shall make them by His wear-
ing white as snow ; for He shall cast this aside, and His
Sacred Body shall be clothed with His own garment1.
For this garment is that with which we clothe Him ; but
His garment is that with which He will clothe us, who
are His Body ; and His garment is " glistering and white
as snow, as no fuller on earth can whiten it ! " For it is said
of His redeemed, that they have " made their robes white
in the blood of the Lamb. And so His promise is, " Though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ;
and though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool."

He has put on our sins, we must put on His righteous-
ness ; we must put on Him, as He has put on us ; we
7 Sacra Privata, Wed. l Zech. iii. 4,

THE SCOURGING 227

must be in some measure like Him. He has put on our
sins in order to take their penalty ; we must put on His
righteousness, in order to partake of His sanctification.
Man himself can make no sacrifice acceptable to God, for
the only proper Sacrifice is that of Christ : but what is
required of us is obedience to God, and mercy to man.
For it is written, " Obedience is better than sacrifice j "
and " I will have mercy and not sacrifice." In Christ
sacrifice was combined with perfect obedience to God, and
perfect mercy to man. But as the thing required in the
typical and representative sacrifices was, that they also
should be entire and perfect : so of obedience and mercy
in man, which are to set forth in us that Sacrifice, it
is required that they should be "perfect as God is
perfect."

Not only our poor humiliations and self-denials, but
those evils that come to us by an unavoidable and chasten
ing Providence, are sanctified and blessed after a likeness
to His sufferings. As St. Cyril says 2, " Through the first
Adam we labour under the disease of disobedience and the
curse attached to it ; but by the Second we are enriched
with the gift of obedience and the blessing attached to it."
Or, as Origen still more beautifully expresses it, "The
power of the Only Begotten was made a curse for us,
being by nature a blessing : but since He is a blessing,
He hath consumed, and dissolved, and scattered every
curse." And St. Athanasius, not less so, says, " Darkness
is irradiated by light, and ' the less is blessed of the
greater : ' so is our humanity blessed by His Godhead."
Thus evil has become good to us. On account of His
correction, it is good for us to be troubled, and His lov-
ing correction doth make us great. And because of His
2 In Joan. lib. xii.
Q 2

228 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

scourging, God doth scourge (//.ao-Tiyoi) every son whom
He doth receive, and corrects him whom He loves. Mourn-
ing is a state of blessing, because of the Man of Sorrows.
Blessed are the poor on account of His poverty : blessed
are the meek on account of His silent patience. To love
our enemies is to be the children of God, because it is
according to the example of His Son. They that are per-
secuted may rejoice and be exceeding glad, on account of
the agonies of mind He endured when persecuted. His
stripes are healing to us. The nails which transfix Him
on the accursed Tree, let us loose from the same. This is
the King of that kingdom which the meek shall inherit.
His robe, and crown, and sceptre, are not weakness, as
they appear, but strong in that strength that overcometh
the world. Never in Kingly robe, and Imperial crown,
and Sovereign sceptre, were such glory, and such majesty,
and such strength, as were in these.

But every instrument of our Lord's suffering was replete
with Divine mysteries, to do Him honour in the sight of
adoring Angels, and to speak the nature of His kingdom.
As He had been before clothed with the white robe of
innocence, so He is now with the red robe of blood. For
His kingdom is not only one of innocence, but also one
of suffering. The purple robe is not only the emblem of
Eoyalty, but also of Martyrdom. He is a King, and He
is also a Martyr ; and He is the King of Martyrs. His
garment is also that of victory; for when the Prophet
speaks of Him as coming, " glorious in His apparel," and
in " dyed garments," it is as One victorious over His ene-
mies, and with garments dyed in their blood. And what
crown could be more suitable to this our King (oh, awful
mystery !) than a crown of thorns ? whether it be as ex-
pressing that all earthly royalty must be a crown of thorns,

THE SCOURGING 229

or rather as bearing Himself the curse of His people ; for
it was meet that the Second Adam should reap the fruits
of that which the first Adam planted : or whether it be
that He wore this Crown of Agony, as being that crown
which is most emblematic and suitable to the King of
Martyrs. And the reed, which is His sceptre, may denote
the frailty of every earthly Kingdom : or may speak the
gentleness and meekness of His own kingly sway, in dis-
tinction from that rod of iron ; that rod of eternal Judg-
ment with which He shall break His enemies in pieces on
the Last Day. All that are in His presence do Him un-
willing homage and obeisance in all their purposes of
dishonour, and already commence the fulfilment of that
prophecy. For God had sworn it long before8, that to
Him " every knee should bow," — " of things," adds St.
Paul, " in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under
the earth4." Yea, things under the earth also; for it
seems already in type and emblem to set forth this latter :
for when even wickedness is made to bow before Him, and
to personate mysterious prophecy, it is like spiritual
Wickednesses under the earth, doing Him homage when
they think not, and carrying on His Kingly and Victorious
purposes. And observe that as the Jew did Him mock
homage before, so does the Gentile now ; for both shall
acknowledge Him as their King ; both already do so in
mystery, for it is written, "All nations shall do Him
service 5 •" " All the kindreds of the nations shall worship
before Him6." For in the Koinans, as masters of the
world, all nations do Him service. Herein is shown that
stivngth of His kingdom, which the poor in spirit shall
inherit, — unfailing charity, undisturbed meekness, and spot-

3 Isa. xlv. 23. « Phil. ii. 10.

4 Pa. Ixxii. 11. • Pa. xxii. 27.

230 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

less innocence. And He is armed all over as Conqueroi
of the world with Divine armour, the helmet of Salvation,
the sword of the Spirit, and the shield of Faith ; — Salva-
tion, in giving Himself up as a spotless Lamb for others ;
by the spiritual sword of invincible meekness; and by
Faith, committing Himself unto Him that judgeth right-
eously. Thus He teaches His people together with Him
to tread on serpents and scorpions, and all the power of
the enemy ; and so to be more than conquerors, through
Him that loved them.

"These things," says Origen, "the soldiers did in
mockery, but mysteries with regard to us were being per-
formed thereby." "But we," says Jerome, "understand
all these things mystically. For as Caiaphas said that one
man must die for the people, knowing not what he said ;
so these also, whatever they did, although they did it
with another mind, yet to us who believe they afforded
mysteries." And St. Ambrose, with great beauty, " With
a motive therefore execrable, the Jews nevertheless, un-
consciously, betray an issue fraught with honour. Thus
they pierce Him with thorns, yet it is to crown Him;
though it is in mockery, yet they worship; though in the
heart they believe not, yet Him whom they are killing
they confess. They were without the motives of a good
deed, yet was not God without His honour. He is saluted
as a King, is crowned as a Conqueror, as God and Lord is
adored7."

But in their explanation of different parts there is some
little variety among ancient writers. Origen considers the
purple robe to signify the flesh subject to suffering ; for in
purple Martyrs are celebrated. St. Ambrose supposes two
robes, and takes the purple for the emblem of Royalty, and
7 Expos, in Lucatn, lib. x. 105.

THE SCOURGING 231

the scarlet of Martyrdom. Isidorus of the purple robe
says, "The robe of mockery triumphed over all human
Sovereignty, which was set at nought thereby ; but when
it was worn by Christ it procured strength and stability,
advancing onward to power that shall have no succession."
St. Hilary 8 considers all these things as emblems of our
infirmities, which Christ took on Himself in His own
Body. The scarlet robe the sufferings of His martyrs;
the thorns the sins of the Gentiles ; the reed the weak-
ness of the Gentiles, which is made firm when held by
Christ's hand. And these two latter Origen had taken
not very differently ; " The crown of thorns," he says,
" signified the taking upon Him our sins, which the earth
brings forth as thorns. And the reed implied that vain
and frail sceptre, on which we all leaned before we be-
lieved, the sceptre of the Evil one. For we trusted on
the rod of Egypt, or Babylon, or of any other Kingdom
opposed to the Kingdom 'of God ; and He took that reed
and rod of a frail Kingdom from our hands, that He might
triumph over him with the wood of His Cross. And for
that reed on which we leaned before, He hath given us the
sceptre of a Heavenly kingdom, of which it is said, ' The
sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre V "

But St. Ambrose carries on the mystery of the crown of
thorns to a sense still more sublime. " What else," says
he, " does the crown of thorns, enwreathed on His Head,
set forth, but that gift of Divine operation, whereby a
triumphal Crown shall be sought for God out of sinners,
which are, as it were, the thorns of the world 1"

St. Athanasius enlarges with great eloquence on the
same, in describing our Lord's contest with, and victory

8 Can. xxxiii. » Ps. xlv. 6. In Matt. Comm. 125.

232 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

over, the devil * : " Since," lie says, " the earth was pol-
luted with blood ; and thorns were springing up on all
sides on account of the curse ; and the devil having the
hand -writing against us, had us in his power, and tyran-
nized over us : on this account, the Lord, in spoiling him
of all things, when He went forth to death, clothed Him-
self with these, to show that His victory over death was
for our salvation. He bore the blood in the scarlet robe ;
the thorns in the crown : the hand-writing against us in
the reed, wherewith the devil had written down that
charge against us. In order that, together with death,
He might abolish these things, and cleanse the creation
from them : and, instead of the thorns, might bestow on
us the Tree of life ; instead of the crime of blood, might,
by His own blood, wash the earth and us all : and, instead
of the curse, might hereafter bless those that are on the
earth, saying, ' Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
the earth.' "

]S"ot in prose only, but in poetry also, do ancient writers
love to dwell on these mystical allusions, whereby all that
happened to Christ is made ours by spiritual emblem and
figure. Thus Gregory Nazianzen, in the quaint language
of proverbial sayings which he is recording, says, —

" The thorny crown and purple robe He wore
Axe spoils of empire, which the Conqueror bore ;
The Cross His trophy : with the Tree of gore
He triumphs o'er that Tree of sad delight :
His nails there fix my sins, 0 bleeding sight !
In those His outstretch' d arms He holds us all ;
For our luxurious tastes He tastes the gall.
That thief is Adam, who in death believed j
The wicked suffers, but is not relieved ;
The o'erchanging gloom of outer darkness speaku $

1 De Pass, et Grace Domini.

THE SCOURGING 233

Rent rooks are stony hearts His dying breaks ;
The risen Dead, which through the city range,
Spoak movement in the Dead and Heavenly change:
From His pierced side two streams together flow,
Baptism twofold, of water and of woe.
When all-pursuing Time brings danger near,
His dying kills my death, and soothes my four.
His Rising bursts in twain my prison bars,
And His Ascending bears me to the stars."

Ami not only are these things considered to have future
references, but also to have been themselves prefigured.
Thus Prudentius, in a remarkable passage, where he is
speaking of the manifestations of God in the Old Testa-
ment, as shadowing forth and prefiguring the Incarnation
of our Lord and the circumstances attending it, mentions
an instance which he considers emblematic of His crown of
thorns * : —

" As erst the Word, the true Irradiance
Of the all-gracious Father, did assume
A frame of frailty from the Virgin's womb,
So ere His flesh-born days, in living trance,
Face to face seen in human countenance,
He talk'd with Moses ; glassing things to come —
That He frail manhood's form should make His home.

E'en so when Godhead burst on Moses' glance,

Making the unhann'd bush His burning lair,

Sharp-wounding thorns among and leafy hair,

It mirror'd Godhead coming from the skies,

To put on limbs whereon the thorns should rise,

A thick-wrought crown our crimes had planted there, —

Our God in thorns of piercing agonies."

It does not appear that these inflictions, on the adorable
Son of God, took place in the sight of His enemies, the
Jews ; for one would suppose that they did not enter into
3 Apotheosis, 6. xlix.

234 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

the hall of execution ; and it is afterwards said that Pilate
brought Him out to thein. At all events, the chief design
of this infliction was to satisfy them. But it appears un-
accountable why Roman soldiers should proceed to such
extremities of unprovoked cruelty, beyond what any wish
to gratify the Jews or their own depraved wantonness could
explain. " It is not said," St. Austin remarks, " that
Pilate commanded the crown of thorns to be made;"
although of course he mast have permitted, and by his
leading out our Lord with the crown upon Him, he seems
to sanction it. But as Chrysostom says, " Pilate having
set this charge on Him in derision, the soldiers thus in
mockery deal with Him ; " and he also thinks that this
gratuitous and additional cruelty of the soldiers, without
Pilate's command, was from their being bribed by the
Jews. But the fact is, that almost all wickedness does, on
consideration, appear unaccountable, and can, too often,
be explained in no other way, but as the mystery of ini-
quity. Therefore the Fathers, instead of dwelling on
ostensible causes, do attribute it to the conspiracy and
instigation of the devil. " I think," says Origen, " the
soldiers did this from the operation of those invisible
' rulers of the world, who stood up and took counsel against
the Lord and His Anointed8 :' that it would seem rather
their delusion than that of men, of them who knew not
in that dispensation the Wisdom of God ; for if they had
known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory V St. Chrysostom speaks to the same effect. And
St. Athanasius, in his very sublime Treatise " on the Pas-
sion and Cross of the Lord," describes the whole of it,
throughout all its details, as the actions of the great
enemy, and mankind as his subordinate agents, stirred up
3 Ps. ii, 2. 4 1 Cor. ii. 8. Comm. in Matt. 125.

THE SCOURGING 235

by him to answer his designs. Pursuing thfo subject he
breaks out into this sublime language : " From hence we
might see the devil fleeing, with all his host and Princi-
palities and Powers ; and the Lord pursuing with human
arms the diabolical phalanx. For the interval was not
long when He spoiled the enemy of all things. Being
confounded he stirred all things against the Lord : the
Jews to conspire ; Pilate to condemn ; the soldiers to
mock Him : knowing not that He was doing this against
himself. For malice is blind, and wickedness cannot see
before it, and does not know that it is sharpening its
hands against itself ; for it is as if one took hold of a ser-
pent by the hand, and wishing to cast it on another, is of
course bitten himself; or seizing fire by the hand, and
wishing to injure an enemy, does not know that he is
setting fire to himself." It is very evident that, through-
out, all the arts of the great enemy recoil upon his own
head, and the very instruments of his malice become to
the Author of our salvation the means of His fuller
triumph and victory. The malice he kindled in the Jews
exemplified our Lord's perfect charity; their inveterate
cruelty, the perfection of His patience ; their accumulated
threats, His fortitude. His own arms were used against
the Evil one, and by his own weapons he was conquered.
For the stronger man entereth his place, and taketh from
him the armour in which he trusted. Here the true
David destroys the giant Goliath with his own sword.
Pharaoh, by pursuing Israel, involves himself in his own
destruction. The true Samson in His death overwhelms
His enemies in the ruins of their own temple, while they
are thinking to make Him the object of their triumphant
mockery. The robe of derision and scorn becomes His
garment of victory, and of empire : the reed put into His

236 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

hands becomes the rod of iron, whereby He shall subdue
the nations.

But yet — although the combination of evil powers was
doubtless never greater nor more violent than on this day,
nor the power of Christ more triumphant ; — yet we cannot
suppose them so far supernatural in their effects, that
there was evinced any thing beyond those principles of
good and evil, which are always in operation. The spirit
of evil always attacks with the same arts, and always is
overcome by the same means. Wickedness, in like man-
ner, is always active ; Christ, in like manner, is always
overcoming in His members. For the account of these
circumstances in the Book of Wisdom6 must either be
considered as strongly prophetic of Christ's sufferings, be-
yond what the known effects of good and evil can account
for ; or else it must be descriptive of the full development
of the principles of good and evil, as they are known by
the observations of the wise. For no one can read the
account without perceiving that, whether intended or not,
it is Christ and His enemies who are spoken of : " He is
grievous unto us even to behold ; for His life is not like
other men's, His ways are of another fashion. We are

esteemed of Him as counterfeits . Let us see if Hia

words be true : and let us prove what shall happen in the
end of Him. For if the just man be the Son of God, He
will help Him, and deliver Him from the hand of His
enemies. Let us examine Him with despitefulness and
torture, that we may know His meekness and prove His
patience. Let us condemn Him with a shameful death,
for by His own saying He shall be respected. Such things
did they imagine, and were deceived. For their own

4 Wisd. ii. 1O—22.

" BEHOLD THE MAN " 237

wickedness hath blinded them. As for the mysteries of
God, they knew them not."

AFTER the soldiers had inflicted their severe treatment on
Christ, — " Pilate therefore again went out " (John) — from
tin- -Judgment Hall to the Jews, taking Jesus with him,
in the hopes of moving His enemies by so miserable a
spectacle of suifering, so that they would relinquish their
murderous purpose, — " and says to them, Behold, I briny
Him out to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in
Him " (John). That is to say, by this punishment which
I have inflicted on Him, you may perceive that I am
satisfied there is no charge against Him, which can warrant
His death. As he spake these words the soldiers were
bringing forth the object of their cruelties, bleeding with
all the signs of the maltreatment He had received at their
hands. " Jesus, therefore, " says St. John, " came forth,
bearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And he
*<i ith unto them, Behold the Man!" Very desirous to
mitigate them, and induce them to relent, on this occasion
Pilate drops the offensive expression, " the King of the
Jews," which he had been using in derision, and adopts a
term that might conciliate their pity, towards one so un-
worthy of their envy. " If it is the King ye envy," says
St. Augustin, " spare him now, when thus debased. He
saith unto them, ' Behold the Man T " Very remarkable
again and wonderful are Pilate's words, for our Lord had
declared Himself God, and for that confession He waa
condemned to death ; but Pilate brings Hini forth to all
the world as perfect " Man. " As it were by a strange

238 -THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

providence, he had "before been even dwelling on this word.
He spoke of Him as " the Man c," and kept repeating the
term, saying, " ye have brought this Man7." And "but
in this Man I find no fault 8." It was the very term by
which our meek Lord delighted to express His humiliations,
" the Son of Man." And surely if any term could move
all that was human, all that has left in it the milk of
human kindness in man, it was this term, " Behold the
Man ! " Evil spirits might still go on to vent their hate,
but on mankind such an appeal should not be in vain.
What part is there of Him which has not already by ill-
treatment evinced His perfect Humanity? To all the
world Pilate has set Him forth in these words, " Behold
the Man!"

But " when the Chief Priests and their officers saw Him,
they cried out, saying, Crucify 'Rim, crucify Him" (John).
"Pilate," as it were horror-struck by such inveterate inhu-
manity, answers with anger and impatience, " Take ye
Him, and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him" (John).
Here the Gentiles crown Him, and bring Him forth to the
Jews as their King : which seems mysteriously to set
forth, in figure, what has ever since been the case in
Christ's spiritual kingdom. The Gentiles bring Him forth
as the King of the Jews, saying, " Behold the Man!"
But the Jews indignantly reject Him. Thus on this
occasion do they cast Him from them, and send Him back
to the Gentiles : and God receives Him at His right hand,
bidding Him there to rest, till He makes His enemies His
footstool. " Thou shalt deliver Me from the strivings of
the people; and Thou shalt make Me the Head of the

6 & foOpiairos. Luke xxiii. 6. 7 Lnke xxiii. 14.

8 Luke xxiii. 4. 14.

heathen. A people whom I have not known shall serve
Me. As soon as they hear of Me they shall obey Me V
The Jews, now ashamed of their old charge, and of
Pilate's contempt of them for it, as it had b^en shown to
be so futile, and yet not willing to appear as if they had
no charge at all, fall back on their own previous condem-
nation, which was not one suitable to be brought before a
heathen Governor, for thereby they made him the judge
in their own sacred matters, instead of the Word of God.
" They answered, We have a Law, and by our Law He
ow/ht to die, because He hath made Himself the Son of
God" (John). Here again we cannot but observe a Divine
signification in the words of the JCAVS, far beyond any
thing of which they were themselves conscious. " We
have a Law, and by our Law He ought to die," or He
needs must die, " because He made Himself the Son of
God." The words were certainly true that He had made
Himself the Son of God. And if He was not the Son of
God, then, indeed, He ought to die, for being guilty of
blasphemy. But if He be indeed the Son of God, as
He has shown Himself to be by all His miracles of mercy ;
then, indeed, according to their Law, He needs must die :
for the whole of their Law is nothing else but a testimony
to the Son of God, and that He must needs die. It was
the wickedness of the High Priest that led him to say
that Christ must die for that nation ; and it is now their
own wickedness that leads the Keepers and Expounders
of the Law to testify, that, according to that Law, He
must die. But nevertheless it was in both cases a great
truth of God. Nor is it contrary to the analogy of
Scripture, to consider evil men and evil things to be thus
replete with prophecy, and witnesses of God. We have
» Ps. xviii. 43. 15.

240 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

dwelt upon this throughout this history, wherein we have
seen that Caiaphas speaks prophecy, and the false wit-
nesses, and Herod in his mockery, and Pilate and hia
soldiers by word and action, bear testimony and give
utterance to the truths of God. It is in the same way
observable throughout the Holy Scriptures, that not good
things only (for what is good among mankind when com-
pared with Him?) but evil things also and evil persons
are made resplendent with the light of His glories. So
the unjust judge is made to represent God's graciousness :
the unfriendly man in bed, His long-suffering : the dis-
honest steward, the wisdom of His elect : Samson and
saints of God, in their sins (as even David in his sin, it
has been supposed1), typify the history of Christ, and His
righteousness. All things speak of Him ; hardness of
heart and blindness of eyes are ever said to indicate the
signs of His presence. Evil spirits are made to bear
testimony to Him \ they bear witness to His Almighty
Power ; they bear witness to Him as the Holy One of God,
and as the Judge, Whose day is coming. Thus it is that
the prince of this world cometh, and by all his agents
shall bear witness, that he finds nothing in Him.

Thus shall it be at the last, that Antichrist himself
shall bear witness to His truth, and be prophetic of His
coming : evil as well as good, darkness as well as light
shall do Him honour ; not only, " day to day, " but
" night" also " to night certifieth knowledge." And as
it shall be so at the last, so also was it in the beginning ;
for thus the lie of the devil, by which he deceived our
first parents, was made by the Almighty's marvellous
mercy a true prophecy, by which the purpose of the devil
was frustrated. For it has been well observed, man was
1 Apologia David Altera, ascribed to St. Ambrose.

THE FEARS OF PILATE

indeed ina«lc thereby to u know good and evil," his own
evil in the overflowings of ungodliness, and the goodness
of God in Christ crucified. Why, therefore, may not the
Jews be witnesses of God, and say more than they thought,
when they said, " By our Law He ought to die, because
He made Himself the Son of God "1

THE FEARS OF PILATE

" When, therefore, Pilate heard this saying, he was the
more afraid" (John). The expression, that " he was the
more afraid," seems to imply that Pilate had been afraid
before, and his whole conduct seems to indicate an unac-
countable reluctance and apprehension. And as this fear
is now increasing, from hearing that He had declared
Himself the Son of God, this indicates that there was
something about our Lord's person and conduct which
tilled him with some sense of awe, notwithstanding his
treatment of Him. Although the name of " the Son of
God" could not be to a heathen what it was to a Jew ;
yet an indefinable consciousness of Deity, connected with
a human person, always prevailed among men, and espe-
cially at this time. Heathenism derived, in all ages, a
prevailing complexion from some rays of scattered light,
which fell on it from the true Eeligion. When the Israel-
ites were enjoined victims of a typical or sacrificial
character, the Egyptians were making such animals the
objects of their worship. And now that the Jews were
expecting their Messiah, the true Immanuel, the Eomana
were deifying their emperors, and speaking of them as
gods, come down to sojourn among mankind. It is evident
that Pilate had not lost the natural fear of God. And

R

242 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

the many instances of heathens, who came first into the
Kingdom of Heaven, are proofs that this fear was capable
of being improved into the acknowledgment of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God manifest in the flesh. Whatever
the character of Pilate may have been subsequently, he
does not appear at this time so hardened and lost as these
Jews. To discern the Godhead of Jesus Christ did not
depend on any definite instruction or previous expectation,
but entirely on the state of the heart ; on the eye and ear
of the heart. For this reason He was more acknowledged
by heathens than by Jews, as being more conscious of sin.
The Gentiles, moreover, were not in this case blinded by
prejudice against conviction. In every case this blindness
arose from sinful passion, covetousness, envy, pride, or
fear, which clouded or destroyed the power of discerning
God. Add to which, that the sensation among the Jewish
nation, and especially the chief rulers in it, against one
so apparently helpless, and with no charge capable of
being adduced against Him, was an indication of some
great and hidden strength, which must have impressed the
Governor with awe. Indeed, hatred of goodness is an
unconscious confession of its secret power ; for the fear of
it exceeds all external indications of that power.

On hearing this, Pilate " again went into the Judgment
Hall" taking Jesus with him apart from the Jews, " and
saith unto Him, Whence art Thou ?" (John,) or where do
you really come from; not What hast Thou done? as
before, but " Whence art Thou ?" For he seems convinced
that He had done nothing amiss, but from whence was
He ? He had said before to Pilate that His kingdom was
" not from hence ;" and as he connected this former decla-
ration of our Lord's with what the Jews now said, and
considered His dreadful and Divine silence and deportment,

THE FEARS OF PILATE 243

Pilate's heart was opened to religious awe, and he was
alarmed. It was a question of awe, and he had taken Him
aside to ask Him. But how did our Lord answer him this
question ? we read, " but Jesus gave him no answer" (John).

This is now the fifth time when He observed that
mysterious and remarkable silence ; — before the Chief
Priest, before the Sanhedrim, before Herod, and twice
before Pilate. Whenever there was an opportunity to
instruct others or do them any good, our Lord seems to
have spoken according to the thoughts of their heart ; but
whenever it was merely for Himself and His own release,
" as the lamb before his shearers is dumb, so He opened
not His mouth V " When He answered not," says St.
Aujjustin, " He was silent as the sheep : when He
answered, He taught as the Shepherd8." Without at-
tempting to explain any thing so inscrutable as our Lord's
conduct, which it is for us to adore in self-abasement, not
to scrutinize ; yet one cannot but notice here that this
silence is a part of that remarkable reserve, which He
always maintained respecting Himself, and which we are
told was the fulfilment of the expression concerning Him,
that He should " not cry nor lift up His voice in the
streets ;" — and this in order that He might " not quench
the smoking flax, nor break the bruised reed." On this
occasion it is evident, that His full reply to the question
of Pilate could be nothing less than an open confession
of His infinite power and Godhead.

But still it might have been expected, that to a request
of Pilate, in itself so good, our Lord would have vouch-
safed a reply. But perhaps this unjust judge was not
worthy of or meet for it : doubtless our Lord's silence, as
well as His words, was weighed out in infinite wisdom.
2 Isa. liii. 7. » In Joan. Evan. cxvi. 6.

244 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

. m

This silence may have been owing to Pilate's previous
neglect of Christ's teaching, and of the truth. For our
Lord's last words to him had been "He that is of the
truth heareth My words ;" but Pilate went away and gave
no heed to it ; he had no love for the truth, and therefore
he hears not Christ's words. For, as St. Chrysostom welJ
says, " He that had heard, — * for this cause I was born,
and for this came I into the world, that I might bear
witness,' and ' My kingdom is not from hence,' when he
ought to have resisted and delivered Him, did not do this,
but followed the violence of the Jews. For this reason he
received no answer, for all his questions were but vain and
idle." It may be, that Pilate had had his time of trial,
and that it was now past, and the things belonging unto
his peace were hid from his eyes. If Christ speaks, He
can speak nothing but what is supremely good, but before
the wicked He is silent. " The silence of the truth," says
Quesnel, " is one of the most terrible punishments of the
Divine justice in this world." This His silence may also
express, by a mystery and figure, God's providence in the
world ; for nothing is so awful as this silence of God,
whereby He at present leaves things to go on without
notice. The expression, " I was even as a deaf man, and
heard not," and " in whose mouth are no reproofs," may
serve to describe the quiet tenor of His moral government,
so awful in its silence ; and in distinction from which, it
is said of His final coming, " God shall come, and shall
not keep silence." But even our Lord's justice towards
him is tempered with mercy, and He who bore with
Judas, even to the last, will not shut the door against
Pilate ; for doubtless the door would be shut against him,
and he would die in his sins, if he believes not as our
Lord said, — " that I am He." Moreover, we may per-

THE FEARS OF PILATE 245

ceive, that our Lord's silence had affected him more than
His words ; and therefore His silence may not only have
expressed His own submission to death, but may have
been the greatest mercy towards Pilate. We have here
two distinct trials of Pilate ; one when he perceived Him
to be innocent, and yet, partly from fear of the Jews, and
partly from motives of private interest, sends Him to
Herod, and has not courage to acquit Him. And another,
at this time, when apprehending Him to be not only
innocent, but also Divine ; yet, for fear of Caesar, he con-
demns Him, at the same time washing his hands ! Of
this great power of our Lord's silence, St. Athanasius
says 4, " Great things and truly wonderful did the Saviour
do ; by silence He worked ; and by not defending Him-
self He caused the judge to confess the conspiracy ; and
that he himself was influenced more by the multitude
than by justice. For if He had defended Himself, He
might have been suspected of fear of death ; but in His
silence His firmness and fortitude are cause of wonder.
And for Pilate to defend Him under these circumstances,
was nothing else than to confess that He who was being
judged was God. Being judged by Pilate, He regardeth it
not ; to his wife He prophesied distinctly : that by His
silence He might impress him with awe at His fortitude ;
by His prophesying he might know that he was judging
not a man, but God. For the judge feared Him thai was
judged. And by this fear he himself was rather judged ;
and in the act of judging was awe-struck at the Lord, and
therefore washed his hands." To all this it may be added,
that probably the guilt of Pilate would have been greatly
increased, if not irreparable, if our Lord had confessed to
him from whence He came.

4 De Passione et Cnu-e Domini.

246 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

But as the Jews had been angry at the sign being with-
held from them, and said, in their impatience, " How long
dost Thou make us to doubt <\ If Thou be the Christ, tell
us plainly ;" so Pilate, seeing our Lord a criminal in his
hands, becomes indignant, and a little surprised, that He
should observe the same silence towards him that He had
done towards the Jews : " Then saith Pilate unto Him,
Speakest Thou not unto me ? Knowest Thou not that 1
have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release
Thee ?" (John.) " And in these words," as St. Chry-
sostom observes, " Pilate confesses his own guilt, and that
he was without excuse ; for he has the power to crucify or
to absolve." To him, therefore, it might be said, " Out of
thine own mouth will I judge thee."

" Jesus answered, TJwu couldest have no power at all
against Me, except it were given thee from above : therefore
he that delivered Me unto thee hath the greater sin " (John).
Here our Lord speaks before His judge with Divine
authority and majesty : both as a Heavenly Teacher, in-
forming him from whence all power flows ; and as the
Judge of all men, marking the degrees of guilt in all con-
cerned. And the reason why our blessed Lord now speaks
may be this, that when He was Himself slandered, He
bears it in silent submission to death : but when Pilate's
arrogant words seem to claim to himself that power which
belongs to God only, then piety requires that He should
speak. There are different modes in which this difficult
passage may be understood.

First, it might signify, — " All these things are done by
the Divine permission ; — this licence you have is by God's
permission. But do not think on that account you are
guiltless : on the contrary, this it is that increases the sin
of Judas in betraying Me, and afterwards that of the

THE FEARS OF PILATE 247

Jewish nation in delivering Me to thee. For this licence
given to the wicked over an innocent person is their own
judicial punishment." " This is your hour," our Lord had
said to the Jews, "and the power of darkness." "That
thou doest, do quickly," said He to Judas : by that per-
mission conveying His most fearful warning. In like
manner He said, " It must needs he that offences come,"
but on that account, " Woe to him by whom the offence
Cometh :" and " The Son of Man goeth, as it is written of
Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is
betrayed." So on this occasion they might have been
restrained by the Almighty ; but His withholding Hand
is removed, He gives them up to a full licence : this it is
that aggravates their guilt : this is the Divine permission
and control which our Lord so often pointed out to His
disciples, adducing the prophecies as a proof. For this
licence of God is the comfort of the good ; the sorest ven-
geance on the wicked.

Or, secondly, it may be explained thus : " Thou couldest
have no power at all against Me, unless it were a Divinely
delegated power, which makes the sin of those who deliver
Me to thee greater than it otherwise would have been, as
abusing so sacred a trust ; for it is written, * By Me kings
reign, and princes decree justice V " They who convert to
their own evil purposes that authority which God hath
ordained, and commit their crimes under the shadow and
sanction of law, are the worse on that account. For this
authority of God is intended for the protection of the
innocent.

Thirdly, St. Augustin, — who considers that our Lord
did in these words declare also, that which He has taught
by His Apostle, that " the powers that be are ordained of
* Prov. viii. 15.

24:8 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

God * :" — yet explains it rather differently from the last
method. He seems to take it to mean that he who com-
mits an innocent person to death from envy, has greater
sin than he to whom God has given power under the
authority of another, so as to put him to death from fear.
For God had given Pilate power under Caesar, and he was
so situated as not to he free ; so that the guilt more par-
ticularly lay upon the Jews, inasmuch as they were acting
more spontaneously. For to act from malice and wanton*
ness is worse than to act from fear, and under a sort of
compulsion and constraint.

Another and fourth mode of interpreting it is, to sup-
pose that it contained a mysterious allusion to our Lord's
Divinity, as if He had said, " I am not a mere man, that
you as judge should have any natural authority over Me ;
the power now given you is hy a peculiar permission from
on high. This it is that aggravates and makes so fearful
the sin of Judas, hefore whom I was manifested as God,
and whose guilt is therefore irremediable : and which also
makes much greater the guilt of the Jews, who have come
very near to the verge of that sin." Here our blessed
Lord darkly alludes to Pilate's eager and dread question,
"Whence art Thou?" and hence the alarm which Pilate
afterwards expressed. This last explanation the more
strongly recommends itself to our adoption, as we expect
some intimation at this time, however mysterious, of our
Lord's secret dignity concerning which Pilate had asked.
Pilate asks the Lord whence He is : and He answers not :
but replies to him with the majesty and authority of God,
and as Judge of aD, explaining to him, that it was by a
peculiar dispensation of God that Pilate stood before Him
as His judge.

' Bom. xiii. 1.

THE FEARS OF PILATE 249

The various modes of understanding the passage depend
on the meaning of the terms, "from above," and "the
greater sin :" whether the comparison refers to Pilate or to
the Jews themselves ; whether it means that the circum-
stance rendered their sin worse than that of the Gentile,
or worse than it would otherwise have been. Each clause
of the sentence would be of itself perfectly intelligible, but
the difficulty is in understanding the connexion of the two
clauses with each other. For otherwise it would be easy
to perceive that Pilate had no power, but what was given
him from God ; and that they who betrayed Him, or gave
Him into his hands, were the more guilty. St. Cyril of
Alexandria explains the clauses separately without the
connexion. The latter he explains thus, — " He ascribes
greater sin to him by whom He was delivered up to
Pilate ; and of course deservedly, for he was the origin of,
and door to, the impiety against Him. But the judge is
shown to be the minister of the crimes of others, and
partakes of the wickedness of the Jews by his unreasonable
cowardice. But who is this who delivers Him up, and to
whom the chief criminality attaches? I suppose that
most venal disciple : and next to him the chiefs of the
Jews and the people. But in laying down the greater
measure of guilt, He had not left the head of Pilate alto-
gether free."

One tiling we may, I think, conclude, that there must
be some great significancy in these words of our Lord;
and that the difficulty which we find in the interpretation
of them was intended by Him, to arrest more particularly
our consideration, and to lead us to search for the truth
contained in them. In whatever way we understand
them, they draw our attention to, and strongly mark, one
circrumstance, viz. the aggravated nature of the sin of the

250 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

Jews. This passage appears to be the express testimony
of our Lord, and His declaration respecting this circum-
stance, which all things tend so strongly to point out, as
we shall see hereafter.

THE APPEAL TO CJESAR THREATENED

AFTER our Lord had this conversation with Pilate, "From
thenceforth" says the beloved disciple, — from that time, or
from that circumstance, or on that account, as St. Augustin
and some persons take it, — " Pilate sought to release Him"
It does not plainly appear what the whole of our Lord's
conversation with Pilate had been, nor what the circum-
stance was that now weighed so strongly on the Eoman
governor, unless it was that declaration of our Lord's which
we have been considering, and that Pilate had been thereby
conscience-stricken, and was desirous to avoid the greater
guilt, as St. Austin says, of slaying an innocent man de-
livered to him. The attention he seemed inclined to
bestow, when our Lord spoke of His Heavenly Kingdom
and of Truth, — and the increase of his fear when he found
the Jewish charge of Christ making Himself " the Son of
God," — and his subsequent inquiry, — all indicate a mind
in some degree moved ; and a little more would awaken his
conscience. This is another instance of our Lord's unceas-
ing watchfulness to do good to every one with whom He
had any intercourse. But it is observable that although,
before this expression of the Evangelist, we read so much
of Pilate's seeking to release the Lord, yet nothing is
mentioned of such attempts after this time, when it
appears, from this account of St. John, that the Governor
was more thoroughly and decidedly bent to release Him.

THE APPEAL TO CAESAR THREATENED 251

Nor is there any thing stated of what space of time
elapsed, while Pilate was thus determined, and perhaps
more openly and avowedly endeavouring to accomplish it.
But when the conscience is moved, and purposes of good
are formed, it is the usual mode of God's moral Provi-
dence to allow temptations of self-interest or fear to occur,
in order to try the sincerity of such resolutions. So it
was now. For the Jews, seeing that he was thus more
openly determined to befriend his prisoner, forgot their
national prejudices, and began to alarm him with threats
of an appeal to the Roman emperor, — " But the Jews cried
otit, saying, If thou let this Man go" — from which it
would appear that he was now on the very point of letting
Him go, — if thou let this Man go, " thou art not Ccesar's
friend; whosoever maketh himself a King speaketh against
Ccesar" (John). The terrors of the emperor, and especially
of one so suspicious and cruel as Tiberius, overcame the
better scruples of Pilate, having no faith in Christ's
power which could have supported him in this tempta<
tion. So that he is constrained to act on a charge, which
appeared to him so unreasonable, as to be a subject
throughout of his contempt and derision. For instead
of the evidence which should support such a charge, he
had the very opposite before him. "What are the
demonstrations of it?" says St. Chrysostom; "where is
the purple, the diadem, the chariot, the soldiers? Has
He not gone about accompanied with twelve disciples,
consorting with all things the most mean, livelihood, and
dress, and habitation?" But those who fear men, rather
than God, are governed by a straw, by a reed fora sceptre.
The subsequent fate of Pilate, who was deposed by the
Roman emperor on a complaint of the Jews, has been
already noticed as one of the instances where the wicked

252 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

are punished by the very objects which they endeavour
to avoid, and by those very instruments which they make
use of to do so. This occurs so generally, that it seems
to indicate a rule or principle in God's moral Government.
The wicked are punished by their own wickedness : all
ways of seeking for strength, and peace, and protection,
excepting in God, are the ways that bear us furthest rroni
them. This we see in our very moral nature, and in the
very history of the soul of man, when it makes any thing
else its choice but God alone : it is not only punished
thereby, but the very object which it wishes to avoid
becomes its punishment.

" When Pilate therefore heard that saying" which
threatened an appeal to Caesar, " he brought Jesus forth, and
sat down on the judgment seat, in a place that is called tht
Pavement, but in the Hebrew," that is to say, in the Syriac
or Chaldee, then spoken, " Gabbatha" (John). "A lofty
place," says Bede, " formed of paving-stones, a raised and
dignified station, on which the judge sat." It was now,
when he was on the judgment seat, that another unforeseen
check, from another quarter, was by Divine Providence
sent as a warning in the way of Pilate : for St. Matthew
says, " Wlien he was set down on the judgment seat, hit,
wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with
that just Man, for I have suffered many things this day in
a dream because of Him" It has been supposed that
the things which Pilate's wife saw in a dream were some
intimations of the awful visitations which afterwards
overtook her husband ; but there is no traditional autho-
rity for this opinion : it was probably something of a
higher and more mysterious nature than Pilate's own
personal afflictions. It is in vain to inquire what the
miraculous circumstance may have been, but it is wonderful

THE APPEAL TO C&SAR THREATENED 253

to observe what various ways Christ makes use of, to
teach all men according to their condition : the Roman
Governor He instructs by His own fearlessness of death,
and by His silence: and now by his wife, perhaps the
only quarter from which his better feelings were accessible.
In like manner, in former times, He taught the Philis-
tines through their own prophets 7 ; Chaldean astrologers
He leads by a star ; the idolatrous Athenians He instructs
from the " unknown God 8 " of their own superstition : the
sick He teaches by healing, the multitude by miracles
and parables, His disciples by Heavenly doctrine, the
Scribes and Pharisees by the Scriptures of the Old Testa-
ment, and now a Roman lady, who had no access to these
modes of instruction, by a dream. For the Heathens
had always supposed, what Holy Writ also leads us to
believe, that there is in sleep some nearer connexion and
communication with the unseen world ; so that it became
a proverb in the time of Homer, that " a dream is from
Jove." The consciousness of this is so stamped on our
nature, that the most touching Tragedies, in all times,
have made their appeal to our deeper feelings by the
introduction of dreams. Perhaps this, and other inci-
dents, may indicate the intervention of good spirits to
save Christ, when the powers of darkness were allowed
to prevail : for it cannot be supposed, as some have
thought, the intervention of Satan to avert the redemp-
tion of mankind.

St. Chrysostom says of the occurrence, " Observe also
another circumstance, which was enough to have recalled
them all, for after these matters themselves were inv^ti-
^aiL-d, the dream also was of no little weight. Ana whal is
the reason why he did not himself see it ? Either because
' 1 Sam. vi -2. • Acts xvii. 23.

254 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

she was more worthy, or that if he had seen it, it would
not have been so much believed, or that he would not
have declared it. On this account it is ordered that his
wife should see the vision, so that it should become
notorious to all And she not only sees the vision, but
suffers many things, that on account of his wife's com-
miseration, he might be the more restrained from the
murder."

It is not very clear whether it was at this period in the
narrative, or earlier in the morning, that the intelligence
came to the Governor from his wife. One might have
been otherwise disposed to think it was earlier in the
morning ; but St. John states that this was the time when
he " sat down on the judgment seat ;" and St. Matthew,
that he was " set down on the judgment seat," when his
wife sent to him. It is indeed at an earlier period in the
narrative that St. Matthew mentions the circumstance,
yet that is no clue to the definite time, as it is usual with
St. Matthew to speak of things out of the order of time,
on account of the mention of something leading to it : and
accordingly, when he speaks of the " envy" of the Jews,
as the circumstance which Pilate then noticed as a reason
for his appeal to the people, he adds another cause of
Pilate's wishing to release Him, a message of this extraor-
dinary nature from his wife, though not occurring precisely
at that time. To which it may be added that his wife
says, " this day," as if the day were already in advance
when she sends : and perhaps her attention would be more
drawn to what was going on, as the commotion thickened
through Jerusalem. Add to which Pilate was probably
for a considerable time on the judgment seat.

COMPUTATION OF TIME 255

COMPUTATION OF TIME

" And it was the preparation" says St. John, " of the
Passover" (John). The day 'that now had commenced
was the day preparatory to the great Sabbath of the Pass-
over ; and it was in fact, in the counsels of God, that
great day which preceded the great Sabbath of the great
and true Passover ; during which our Lord rested in the
grave. This day of preparation may be well supposed to
set forth in type the whole of our Christian state, which is
as it were the season and day of Christ crucified, the time
of our being crucified together with Him, and preparatory
to the great Heavenly and eternal Sabbath. The day of
our Lord's crucifixion is the time for our crucifixion, for
we must be crucified together with Him ; and this life is
our day of preparation, our day of preparing for the great
passover, our passing over into the kingdom of Heaven, and
unto "the supper of the Lamb."

This therefore was the awful and momentous day,
which now commenced, and it was, the Evangelist adds,
" about the sixth hour " (John), that is to say, about six
o'clock in the morning. For the most satisfactory mode of
arranging the points of time mentioned by the Evangelists,
appears to be that of Dr. Townson, according to which St.
John's mode of reckoning the hours of the day appears to
be the same as our own ; and is reasonably concluded to
be the Asiatic, as he himself was a Bishop in Asia when he
wrote ; and his Gospel has been supposed to have been
written at the request of the Ephesians, and therefore
more particularly addressed to the Churches in Asia, so
that he would naturally adopt that computation of time

256 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

which they would best understand. But the other three
Evangelists appear to use the Jewish and Roman computa-
tion of the hours. Thus, they all three speak of the time
when the sun was darkened, that is to say, twelve o'clock
at mid-day, as the sixth hour. And thus St. Mark men-
tions that at the third hour, that is to say, at nine o'clock,
according to this computation, our Lord was crucified.

The various periods of time, therefore, that mark this
eventful day are the following. At the watch of the night,
called the cock-crowing, our Lord was denied by St. Peter.
In the morning (irpwi), that is between three and six,
the Council met and delivered Him to Pilate, and at the
time of their delivering Him up to Pilate, St. John him-
self states, " it was the morning " (Trpwta, v. 28). And at
six o'clock Pilate sat on the judgment seat. Between this
time and nine o'clock, the condemnation of our Lord took
place ; and perhaps the case of the two thieves and that of
others may have been transacted, while Pilate was on the
judgment seat, and other things preparatory to such execu-
tions. Then ensued also the washing of Pilate's hands,
the long and slow procession to Mount Calvary, and pro-
bably other circumstances which are not recorded. And
at nine o'clock, the time of the morning Sacrifice, our
Lord was put on the Cross. At twelve o'clock He raised
the bitter cry, and the sun was darkened till three o'clock
in the afternoon. And a little after three o'clock our
Lord expired, at the time of the daily evening Sacrifice,
and of the Paschal Lamb being slain, which was between
the two evenings 9 of this day ; that is to say, between
three o'clock and the rising of the stars, or the setting of
the sun. As if nature itself, answering to the Scriptural
types, represented our Lord, the Sun of righteousness,
9 See Exod. xii. 6, marg. reading.

COMPUTATION OF TIME 257

disappearing from our sight, and the Church and His
saints, or the moon and the stars, continuing to give
light, the light which they derived from Him, while He
is removed from human sight.

Nothing in the Gospels is without a lively interest and
importance ; and if this mode of computing the time be
correct, the change in St. John from that of the older
,Jj'-\vish and Roman mode of computation, and which is
that of the other three Evangelists, is curious. The Jews
therefore and the Romans, — the older dispensations, and
the nations at large, commenced their day in the evening,
and had done so from the Creation, when " the evening
and the morning " formed the day 10. And thus night
precedes day ; travail precedes birth ; sorrow precedes
joy ; darkness precedes light ; earth precedes Heaven.
But the Evangelist who saw the Apocalypse, who is the
Prophet of Christ's next Coming, and who terminates the
Bible with the words that He shall come quickly ; he,
contrary to the older custom of his own country, adopted
another reckoning, beginning at midnight ; and in like
manner we also ourselves begin at midnight. For at mid-
night Christ arose from the -dead ; at midnight we expect,
and the early Christians expected, His next coming, the
coming in of "the new heavens and the new earth." We
begin at midnight, for "the darkness is past, the true
light now shineth." The time of the Jews, i. e. their mode
of computation, was changed as they came out of Egypt,
and that period was made to them the beginning of
months, the commencement of the Year "; so our Day is
changed, when we are brought out of Egyptian bondage by
Christ's Resurrection, the beginning of our Day is when
Christ rises from the grave, the Sun of righteousness. For
1C Gen. i. n Exod. xii. 2.

&

258 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

the darkness is already passing away, the Kingdom of light
is already "begun, and the twilight of the eternal Morning
is already shining.

It appears therefore to have been six o'clock of our
time, when the Governor sat on the judgment seat ; nor
was so early an hour unusual for such proceedings in
those times. Josephus states that it was at daybreak that
Herod sat arrayed in royal apparel on the judgment seat,
as is described in the Acts of the Apostles, when he was
struck by the Angel1. This arrangement indeed leaves a
considerable space of time before the Crucifixion, that of
three hours, but such as may be easily accounted for. It
seems not unlikely, that a good deal might have taken
place at this period, while Pilate was on the judgment
seat, which would account for the space of time allotted to
it. For St. John mentions just before, that " from that
time he sought to release Him," as if his efforts to do so were
now more decisive. St. Matthew also mentions the tumult
being increased before he gave way, though he does not
give the particular account of it. " Oftentimes," says St.
Augustin, " Pilate treated with the Jews, wishing to re-
lease Jesus, which Matthew records in very few words, by
saying, ' Pilate therefore when he saw that he prevailed
nothing, but that rather a tumult was made ;' which he
would not have said, unless he had endeavoured much,
although he leaves in silence how often he attempted to
deliver Him from their fury V

NO KING BUT CAESAR

PILATE therefore was now on the judgment seat, but had

not passed the sentence ; and Jesus was standing before

1 Acts xii. 23. 2 De Consens. Evang.

NO KING BUT C&SAR

him and all the people, as the prisoner, with His crown of
thorns and His purple robe. Pilate " saith unto the Jews,
Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with Him,
away with Him, crucify Him! Pilate saith unto them,
Shall I crucify your King ? " (John) with a mixture of
scorn and indignation which he could not repress at the
demand, and being now the more irritated as he had not
courage to resist it. But the " Chief Priests " having
found out the mode of alarming him, and losing all con-
sideration of their own prejudices in their present exas-
peration, cried out, and "answered, We have no Ktmj hut
Ccesar" (John). And the Almighty has taken them at
their demand, as He usually does the wicked, giving them
ordinarily in His providence riches, or honour, or what-
ever else their hearts are set upon in preference to Him-
self, in order that they might find their punishment therein.
As before in the days of Samuel, when rejecting the
government of God they demanded a King, God gave them
a King in His anger, even so now. Their conduct now
was indeed but the consummation of that their ancient
sin, and the judgments that have followed upon it h.-ivc
been the fulfilment of Samuel's solemn forewarnings3. For
from that time they have had Caesar for their King, until
he utterly destroyed their city ; and ever since, to this
day, they have lost the government of God, and the
Caesars of the world rule over them with a rod of iron.
They " have no King but Caesar." They would not re-
ceive the Prince of Peace, riding on an ass in His gentle
Coming; when the "babes" sung of His Advent in the
Temple ; and the Prophet bade them rejoice, saying, " Re-
joice greatly, thou daughter of Sion, behold, thy King
cometh ! " Therefore in great mourning, they shall receive
* 1 Sam. viii. 9
82

260 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

their own chosen Caesar, coming with his army and un
paralleled destruction. As Moses had forewarned them*
that if they would not serve God with ~ joy fulness and
with gladness of heart," they should " serve their enemies
which the Lord should send against them, in hunger, and
in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things :
that He should put a yoke of iron upon their neck until
He had destroyed them 4." And that prophecy of Jere-
miah, which doubtless had its fulfilment on many previous
occasions, when they preferred inferior things to God, had
its higher fulfilment in their fuller development of the
same temper. "Be astonished, 0 ye heavens, at this,
and he horribly afraid, he ye very desolate, saith the Lord.
For My people have committed two evils ; they have for-
saken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them
out cisterns, "broken cisterns, that can hold no water B."
The invisible and blessed Theocracy of God they have re
jected, and chosen for themselves Saul and Caesar. Every
thing that could have been done to prevent them, by
warning and command, had been done in great mercy ;
and looking forward, as we may well suppose, to this very
occasion, the Lord • had enjoined them, that, if they took
for themselves a King, that King must not be "a stranger,
but one of their brethren," and such a one as would " not
multiply to himself horses," like the Eoman.

PILATE WASHING HIS HANDS

IT was probably of this time that St. Luke speaks, when

he says, "And they were instant with loud voices requiring

that He should be crucified. And the voices of them and

4 Deut. xxviii. 47, 48. 5 Jer. ii. 12, 13. 6 Deut. xvii. 15.

Fir. ATE WASHING HIS HANDS -V>1

of the Chief Priest* }>r< railed. And Pilate" seeing the
uproar that was made, and secretly alarmed at the notion
of an appeal to Caesar, "gave sentence that it should be as
they required" (Luke). But it was now, after he had
ascended the tribunal ; or just before he had done so and
passed sentence, that Pilate, on thus yielding, adopted
that significant and striking action which St. Matthew
records ; and which he used perhaps in imitation of the
practice of the Jews before they entered the Temple.
"Pilate therefore, when he saw that he prevailed nothing,
but that rather a tumult was made, having taken water,
washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am guilt-
less of the blood of this just person. See ye to it " (Matt.).
A very extraordinary declaration for a judge to have made,
and showing strongly the alarm of his conscience. " TJien
ansivered all the people and said, His blood be on us, and
on our children " (Matt.). So wonderfully was the Divine
hand of awful judgment already showing itself in their
most wilful expressions of wickedness ; and so very mys-
teriously and awfully does this, and all such circumstances,
bear on those numerous expressions of Holy Scripture,
wherein God speaks of Himself as judicially present in the
infatuation of the wicked, if in Godly fear and reverence
we may venture so to speak. Thus, when they sin most
wilfully, their words are mysteriously indicative of their
own condemnation ; and they are judged out of their own
mouth. Thus do they fulfil the sentence of the Psalmist7;
" Let the mischief of their own lips fall upon the head of
them that compass me about."

The action itself of Pilate was of a Jewish character, as
speaking by action and sign, according to the Law : " It
was not," says Origen, " according to any Eoman practice
7 Ps. cxl. 9.

262 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

but of a Jewish character, whereby He might testify to
Christ's innocence not by word only, but by deed also,
and to appease them, if they would relent, if not, to con-
demn them. But they, not caring to be cleansed from
that blood, took it upon them V But what is most ex-
traordinary is, that, like every other transaction on this
occasion, he is, as it were, fulfilling, though unconsciously,
the Divine word ; for we can scarcely conceive but that
this mysterious scene was contemplated in that Book of
Moses*. "All the elders of that city shall wash their
hands over the heifer ; — and they shall answer and say,
Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes
seen it. Be merciful, 0 Lord, unto Thy people Israel,
whom Thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood
unto Thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall
be forgiven them. So shalt thou put away the guilt of
innocent blood from among you." The Jews not only did
not do this, but Pilate does it in their presence, and they
do the opposite. The very command gives Divine force
to both actions. The human motive in Pilate for the
adoption of this strange action may have been that his
conduct might be perfectly understood by all the persons
of mixed languages, with whom he had to deal. And
probably the " pavement " where he now stood was an
open public place, in distinction from the prsetorium, where
he had examined our Lord ; for Pilate, and our Lord
Himself, seem in this place to be before all the people ; as
Herod was, when he sat on the judgment seat * in his royal
robes, and made an oration to the assembled multitude in
an open place ; — " and the people gave a shout."

By this action the judge pronounced his own guilt, with

1 In Matt. Comment. 124. 9 Dent. xxi. 6 — 9.

1 en-} roil jSVaro.e Acts xii. 21.

PILATE WASHING HIS HANDS 263

a strange expression of 16x001*86 in the very act of crime.
The numerous indications of warning from without, and
these indications of warning from within, are not unlike
those which Judas received ; warnings which, we may
conclude, will come forth as witnesses on the last Day.
In vain will he wash his hands in water, while he takes
no heed to wash them in innocency ; a circumstance which
our own poet * has very forcibly pourtrayed, by represent-
ing Pilate as ever repeating that vain action of washing
his hands in that place where there is no further room for
repentance. However, the whole action would be well
understood, merely as interpreted by that custom of
sprinkling himself, or washing himself with water, which
the Priest did before the sacrifices. It might be mystically
implied, thereby, that the Gentiles, who were represented
by Pilate, should be washed and cleansed by that Sacri-
fice ; while the Jews took on themselves the guilt. This
St. Jerome confirms : " by the washing of Pilate's hands
all the works of the Gentiles are cleansed, and we are
separated from the impiety of the Jews." St. Cyril
of Jerusalem also 8 mentions that the water and blood
which issued from our Lord's side, was as it were but a
confirmation of this twofold declaration of Pilate and of
the Jews : " the water was," he says, "for him who judged
Him ; but for them that shouted against Him, the blood."
He carries it farther also, by saying that " the blood was
for the Jews, the water for the Christians." "For
nothing," he adds, "happened without a meaning." This
action, moreover, seems to have fulfilled the expression of
the Prophet, who, after saying that " His visage was so
marred," adds, "so shall He sprinkle many nations4."

3 Spenser's Fairy Queou, b. ii. c. viii. st. f>2.
» Lect, xiii. 22. 4 h* Hi. 15.

264 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

And indeed it seems not improbable, that the whole cir-
cumstance might have been prefigured by those ceremonies
which are described in the Epistle to the Hebrews8.
" When Moses had spoken every precept to all the people
according to the Law, he took the blood, with water and
scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the book, and all
the people." For these requisites were all here fulfilled.
Our Lord was now standing before them in the scarlet
robe, which was signified by the scarlet wool : there was
the water, with which Pilate washed his hands ; and the
reed which they put in His hand may have been a cane of
hyssop, as we find the reed seems synonymous with hyssop,
on which they put the sponge of vinegar, at the Cruci-
fixion ; at the same time the blood was that which the
Jews took on themselves ; and our Lord was Himself a
bleeding spectacle before them, from the scourging and the
Crown of thorns. So that the four mystical emblems are
found together in this dread Sacrifice and condemnation.

The action is also remarkable in another point of view,
as being one out of a great many circumstances that appear
to have been Divinely ordered to bear testimony to the
immaculate Lamb of God, proving that He was perfectly
" without blemish," spotless and blameless, which was here
set forth in a distinct marked action. The same was shown
by the High Priest and the Council in vain endeavouring
to obtain false testimony ; it was shown by the declaration
of Judas, that he had " betrayed the innocent blood ;" by
the repeated testimony of Pilate, that he could "find no
fault in Him ;" by the testimony of Herod, to whom He
was sent; and by the expression of Pilate's wife, who
called Him "that just man;" by the testimony of the
thief on the cross, " this man hath done nothing amiss ;"
5 Heb. ix. 19.

PILATE WASHING HIS HANDS 265

(for ho had been present, says St. Cyril of Jerusalem, at
the judgment ;) and finally by the declaration of the Cen-
turion, "Truly this was a righteous man." Therefore the
Prophet asks, " Who will contend with Me ? who is Mino
adversary 1 let him come near to Me : who is he that shall
condemn Me fl ?" " Let them bring forth their witnesses,
that they may be justified : or let them hear, and say, It
is truth V

If this action of Pilate's was so wonderfully expressive
and significative, no less so was the reply with which it
was met by the Jews, when " all the people answered and
said, His blood be on us, and on our children." It is said
expressly, " all the people ;" not the multitude or crowd,
but high and low, rulers and subjects — " all the people."
Here again, by one great and distinct declaration, they
bore testimony against themselves to the following remark-
able circumstance.

For we can scarcely fail to notice, that while the Jews
were thus acting throughout recklessly and spontaneously,
yet events were so overruled by Divine Providence, that
every part of that nation should have a voice, and share,
in His death; and that owing to a variety of contin-
gencies, apparently fortuitous. All the incidents of the
trial and condemnation are striking, in this point of view,
as tending to throw the guilt off" the Gentile upon the
Jew. On the one hand', of this nature is all that long
importunity of Pilate to obtain His release by every
method, by sending to Herod, by scourging Him to prevent
His death, by going forth and expostulating with the
Priests, by appealing to the people. The deprecation of
Pilate's wife seems also, from another quarter, the voice of
the Gentiles acquitting Him. And Pilate's washing Ma
* Isa. 1. 8, 9. * T8a. xliii. 9.

266 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

hands in the presence of them all, is, in the strongest
manner, expressive of the same. On the other hand, one
of our Lord's own disciples betrays ; then Annas, who is
designated as a High Priest 8, binds Him, and no one can
tell why; then Caiaphas, the High Priest, openly and
solemnly condemns Him ; so do also " Chief Priests,
Elders, and Scribes;" "and," as St. Mark says, "the
whole Council " met together on the morning, so that the
whole Sanhedrim also are guilty ; then, as if by a strange
and singular accident, He is sent to the king of Galilee,
that the authority of that part of the Holy Land might
also have a share in His death. But how could it be an
act of the whole Jewish people, as distinct from their
rulers 1 It was so ordered, as if by a kind of fortuitous
occurrence, that on this occasion, the only one in the whole
year, even the people had the power of life and death by
a custom of the Passover, when the Roman governor
allowed them one prisoner. So that they also, with one
voice, pronounced His death. Thus, as on one side, we
have the remarkable expression of the Gentile, "I am
innocent of the blood of this just person ;" on the other, as
if under a mysterious and Divine superintendence, these
accumulated circumstances of Jewish guilt are expressed
in the words of the whole people, — " His blood be upon
us, and upon our children." And this it is which we sup-
posed our blessed Saviour's words to Pilate, the very few
that He spake, were intended to point out, namely, the
strong preponderance of guilt on the Jew rather than on
the Gentile, when He said, that they, who had delivered
Him up to Pilate, had the greater sin.

Thus what is very remarkable, as ever, by the Providence
of God, the wicked are taken in their own craftiness ;
8 Lnke iii. 2 Acts iv. 6.

PILATE WASHING HIS HANDS 267

while they were thus bringing about the Lord's death, and
endeavouring to thrust the act from off themselves upon
the Roman, the guilt "becomes thereby the more indelibly
impressed upon themselves. Thus no part of the nation
was guiltless ; and the whole nation partook of the judg-
ment. And the circumstance of the Jews, thus solemnly
taking upon them the blood of Christ, was perhaps the
more immediate cause of that impenitency which preceded
their ruin, — that God heard not their prayers, according
to His declaration, " When ye spread forth your hands, I
will hide Mine eyes from you : yea, when ye make many
prayers, I will not hear : your hands are full of blood * :"
while they stretch forth their hands, imbrtted in the blood
of His Son. And thus St. Basil observes of this passage,
that " the cause is therein assigned why God will not hear
their prayers, ' for your hands are full of blood.' For the
very action or signs of supplication are occasions of pro-
vocation. In like manner, as if any one should slay a
beloved son, and, while his hands are still stained, should
lift them up to an angry father, and pray for pardon ;
such are now the prayers of the Jews, that whenever they
stretch forth their hands, they show them to be full of the
blood of Christ. For they who continue in their hardness
of heart are inheritors of their fathers' murder. For they
Bay, ' His blood be on us, and on our children.' Therefore
Pilate granted their request, and they obtained a victory
which was the mother of their destruction." To these
observations of St. Basil it may be added, that their re-
pentance is spoken of as in some measure proportionate,
"as mourning for Him," whom they have pierced, "as one
mourns for his only son," and " as one that is in bitterness
for his first born V

• Isa. i. 15. > Zech. xii. 10.

268 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

But although this circumstance, which marked the
accumulated guilt of that nation, may have had a refer-
ence to that visitation, when all their nation was destroyed
utterly, yet it prohably had also other and higher mean-
ings, for " the blood of the Paschal Lamb was to be on
every door ;" " every man shall make your account for
the Lamb ;" expressly, " a lamb for an house." And as
we observed, that all the Jews took part in our Lord's
death, — excepting women, of whom not one is mentioned, —
this may have signified that every household was repre-
sented by the men. It is remarkable, too, how the very
words correspond : it is enjoined, " the whole assembly of
the children oMsrael shall kill it2." And the Evangelist
says expressly, " the whole assembly8" were met, to put
Him to death.

But still, notwithstanding this marked accumulation of
guilt, yet it must be remembered, that there are ever " a
remnant," elect according to grace, over whom God rejoices
in Holy Scripture. For it is also to be noticed, that
though they thus sinned, collectively and nationally, yet,
out of every class of men, there was found some one or
more who bore testimony to the truth : Joseph of Arima-
thea, from among the rich and the noble; Mcodemus,
from among the Scribes ; the centurion at the cross, from
among the soldiers; the wife of Pilate among noble women;
the wife of Herod's steward from a king's household ; the
thief on the cross, of malefactors ; Simon, the Cyrenian,
of Gentile foreigners. All these single individuals from
among classes who took part in His death. Thus also
shall it be in the days of Antichrist, in various conditions
of life, shall they that compose the remnant be found :
one woman at a Tnill, another in the field, another in
» Exod. xii. 6. » Mark xv. 1.

THE WAY OF SORROWS 269

shall be taken. In like manner of this act of the Jews,
St. Chrysostom says, with great charity, " Although they
attached that curse to themselves, and to their children
also, yet the merciful God hath not confirmed their sen-
tence, but out of them, and out of their children, He hath
chosen those who should repent. For out of them was
Paul, and many thousands who believed at Jerusalem."

THE WAY OF SORROWS

" Then therefore" (John) it was that Pilate " delivered
up" (Matt., Mark, Luke, John) "Jesus" (Matt., Mark,
Luke) " to their will " (Luke), " that He might be cruci-
fied" (Matt., Mark, John). " They" (the soldiers) "then
tifri/ilied Him of the purple " (Mark), " the military cloak"
(Matt.), " and put His oion garments on Him" (Matt.,
M:u-k), " and led Him out" (Mark), " and led Him away to
<'rti,-!fy Him" (Matt.). Here is our blessed Lord again in
His own raiment, which, like Joseph's, was a long gar-
ment, covered with blood. But though they now took off
from Him the mock robe of purple, yet they took not off
the crown of torture; "for this," says Origen4, the
Evangelists do not say was taken off as well as the purple
robe ; " for He took our thorns on His adorable head, and
lays them not aside." St. Chrysostom also observes the
; so that we may suppose, in this respect, the Man
of Sorrows is rightly represented by the painters as, —
when bearing His Cross, and hanging on His Cross, —
with the Crown of thorns on His head.

"And He bearing 7//W Cross went forth" (John). This
was a refinement of torture usually practised with male-
* In Matt, Coimu. I:i3.

!

270 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

factors, to bear this instrument of their torments, the
transverse beam of the cross : and in itself, therefore, a
sight so ignominious, that the term expressive of the worst
wickedness and degradation among the Eomans was derived
from it, the word " furcifer," or gallows-bearer. But in
our gracious Lord, as seen by the eyes of faith, it was the
true Isaac bearing the wood on which He was to be
offered, placed by His Father on His shoulders, as a King
bearing the sceptre of His kingdom, the sign of mortifica-
tion. " As the victim of God," says Quesnel, " He
carries the wood for His sacrifice ; as a Conqueror, the
arms with which He is to conquer the world ; as a King,
the sceptre with which He is to rule His people." And
this was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah, that
" the government shall be on His shoulder5." For " His
government," says St. Austin, " is the Cross ; on account
of which, according to the Apostle, God hath highly
exalted Him. It was the very ensign of His kingdom ;
for you will find, on inquiry, that Christ does not reign
in us, excepting through hardships ; on which account it
is that men of self-indulgence are the enemies of the
Cross of Christ." " Here," says another writer6, "Abel
is led forth into the field to be slain by his brother ; here
Isaac is present with the wood, and Abraham with the
ram adhering in the thorns ; here is Joseph also with the
sheaf seen in his dream, and the coat down to the feet
smeared with blood ; here is Moses with the rod, and the
serpent suspended on the wood ; here is the vine branch
borne on the wood ; here is Elisha with the wood, seeking
for the axe which had sunk to the bottom and swum to
the wood, that is, the race of mankind which, from the
forbidden tree, fell down to hell, and through the wood of
5 Isa. ix. 6. 6 Pseudo-Jerome on St. Mark,

THE WAY OF SORROWS 271

the Cross of Christ, and the Baptism of water, hath swum
to Paradise : here is Jonas, from the wood cast into the
sea and the belly of the whale, for three days." 1 1 civ.
we may add, is the captive Samson hearing on his
shoulders the posts and the bars of the city of Gaza ; for
our Lord bore away thereby the gates of hell : here is the
Lcvite bearing " the ark on his shoulders," for this Cross
is the Ark of our Salvation : here is He of whom it is
said, " the key of the House of David will I lay on Hie
shoulder T," for His Cross is as the key that opens and
closes Heaven, it is that whereby all men shall stand or
fall in their eternal portion.

It is supposed that our blessed Lord Himself thus bore
His own Cross, as St. John described Him, through the
city, and that, when they had now come to the gate of
the city, He was unable to support it : when the circum-
stances take place which the other Evangelists record.
Probably He was at this time not only unable to support
His Cross, but even unable to support Himself also. For
it may be observed that St. Mark afterwards changes the
expression, and speaks of their "bearing" Him to the
place of execution ; which, considering the circumstantial
accuracy of St. Mark's words, and that he himself, as
well as the other two Evangelists, had before used the other
term, and said that they led Him out, would induce one
to suppose that our Lord was too weak to proceed
without support. But even at this moment of His
extreme weakness we cannot but adore, with awe and
wonder, His Divine charity, which makes even His
weakness to school us in heavenly wisdom. For now,
when He fainted undnr the weight of His Cross, and,
from the sufferings of body and mind which He had
1 Isa. xxii. 22.

272 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

undergone, was unequal to sustain this burden ; yet even
here He ceased not, by a mysterious lesson, to teach
His true followers, and to remind them of that admonition
which He had so often inculcated upon them, " That he
who would be His disciple must bear the Cross, and
come after Him, and follow Him :" that as He is " King,
those who would reign with Him must also suffer with
Him ;" setting before us, in lively action, that to which
He has exhorted us by St. Paul, " Let us go forth to Him
without the camp, bearing His reproach." 0 wonderful
and exceeding charity, unspeakable watchfulness of Divine
teaching ! 0 blessed privilege, to " fill up that which is
behind of the sufferings of Christ !" For who can
approach so near Him as to bear His Cross, and not
partake of that ineffable goodness that surrounded Him 1
And who was that man of Cyrene ? What good deed of
faith had he done to Christ, or to Christ's little ones, that
he, of all the sons of Adam, should have been deemed
worthy to be admitted to this, the first and greatest of
all earthly honours ? Who he was, excepting the name,
we know not, nor what he had done, for God withdraws
from the sight of men, and hides, in His own Presence,
those whom He most delights to honour. All that we
know is that, "as they are going out" (Matt.), "and led
Him away" (Luke), " they found a man of Cyrene, by
name Simon " (Matt.), " as he was coming out of the
country, the father of Alexander and Rufus" (Mark), " on
him they lay hands " (Luke), " as he was passing by"
(Mark), " and compel him to their service that he might
bear His Gross " (Matt., Mark). And they "placed it upon
him to bear after Jesus " (Luke).

The reason for their laying hold of this Simon was
probably, as St. Augustin suggests, that none of them-

THE WAY OF SORROWS '273

selves would touch that wood, so odious and accursed ;
but what they intended as shameful and painful to this
poor stranger, is the highest earthly crown of greatness ;
so wonderful even here is the efficacy of that Cross !
Ho is thereby by their cruelty made meet to approach the
Saviour, and to be the mysterious representative of His
Church. St. Ambrose thinks that this very discrepancy
in the Evangelists, who speak both of our Lord bearing
His Cross, and also of Simon bearing it after Him, tends
the more strongly to set forth this mystery, that He
Himself first of all lifts the Cross on Himself, and then
delivers it to His members to lift. It is not a Jew who
bears the Cross, but a stranger and a foreigner. Nor does
he go before, but follows ; as it is written, " Let him take
up his Cross and come after Me." And it was probably
the case, as St. Ambrose seems here to take it, that Simon
did not bear the Cross together with Christ, as it is repre-
sented in pictures, but by himself after Christ. But
Origen supposes that the Cross was afterwards put on
our Lord Himself also. It is observed, by St. Jerome
and others, that the terms Simon of Gyrene signify
by interpretation " the obedient heir," which, if it could
be proved, would arrest our attention, according to that
extraordinary significancy which Holy Scripture indicates
to exist in names ; and would represent to us in a lively
manner those Gentiles which were strangers, but are
made heirs of the providence by obedience. But St.
Athanasius takes the word Cyrenian to mean " ready,"
as if "ready to obedience." At all events, it represents
the Gentiles, whom Christ meets coming from the
countries of heathenism and idolatry at the entrance
of Jerusalem, the holy city, " going," says Theophylact,
"to that holy City which is above;" and delays their

T

274 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

entrance for a while, that they may go back and beai
the Cross after Him. That an instructive mystery was
contained in this bearing the Cross after Christ is indeed
obvious to a thoughtful mind ; and most ancient writers
seem to allude to it. "Not by chance," says Origen,
speaking of this meeting of Simon the Cyrenian, "but
hither led, according to the foreknowledge of God, and
the disposing of God, that he might be found worthy of
the Evangelical Scripture, and this ministry to the Cross
of Christ, by which the world is crucified unto the Saints,
and the Saints unto the world'." And " it was not only
suitable that the Saviour should receive the Cross, but
that we also should bear it ; fulfilling this our salutary
compulsion and service." And St. Jerome, " The Gentiles
mystically receive Christ, and the obedient stranger bears
the ignominy of the Saviour." And St. Hilary, "The
Jews were unworthy to bear the Cross of Christ, for here-
after the Gentiles were in faith to receive the Cross, and
to suffer together with Him*." To these observations it
may be added, in like mode of interpretation, that the
mention of the sons of this Cyrenian may further imply,
that if the Gentiles have not to boast of their fathers,
as the Jews had, being Prophets and Apostles, yet they
had sons who were disciples ; according as it is written,
" Instead of thy fathers thou shalt have children."

Of beautiful and touching interest is this mournful
scene of meeting the Cyrenian. He with whom the
Father was " well pleased," comes to the gate to meet us ;
fulfilling perfect obedience, yet bearing the curse of dis-
obedience. And we meet Him at the gate, and go with
Him to Calvary, that we may lay hold of the Cross,
and be with Him ; for we must not approach Him there
8 In Matt. Comm. 126. ' In Matt. cap. xxxiu.

THE WOMEN LAMENTING -75

without bearing some slight share of His Cross. " Here
will I dwell, for I have a delight therein ;" " For I know
that Thou of very faithfulness hast caused me to be
troubled." And "Thy loving correction shall make me
great:" — "For if we be dead with Him we shall also
live with Him : if we suffer we shall also reign with Him."

THE WOMEN LAMENTING

AND now, as Christ was thus proceeding up the way oi
sorrows to the place of His execution, we naturally feel
desirous to know what had become of those many persons
who had in some measure believed in Him, and received
great benefits from Him. And we read, — " There followed
Him a great company of people, and of women, which also
bewailed and lamented Him. But Jesus turning unto them
said. Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep
for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the
days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are
the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps
which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the
mountains, Fall on us, and to the hills, Cover us. For if
they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the
dry ?" (Luke). It is St. Luke alone who mentions this
circumstance ; and it is to be observed that, like most of
the incidents and expressions which St. Luke alone
records, it is of a compassionate character ; such as that
prayer of our Lord for His enemies soon after, which is
mentioned only by this Evangelist ; and also the Saviour's
weeping over Jerusalem. And the expression of our Lord
on that occasion, as well as the present, may serve in
some faint degree to indicate one subject and cause of our
Lord's inscrutable weight of agony of mind. For when
T 2

276 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

He shed tears on coming near to Jerusalem, it was not on
account of His own approaching sufferings, but because
" the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall
cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and
keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with
the ground 10." And .now also it was for the same cause,
because the days of affliction were coming on them that
afflicted Him. This therefore was one subject of our
Saviour's grief, His tender yearning over His own people ;
that wicked city was the object of all His cares. But we
cannot but suppose that He who knew all things, had far
greater agonies of mankind in His mind than those suffer-
ings, very great as they were, of the Jewish siege : may we
not humbly venture to suppose that He was rather think-
ing of those sorrows and that time, of which that siege was
but the type and emblem ? and that now in His grief He
was connecting together those two events, which two days
before He had so vividly connected together in prophecy,
the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world ?
This supposition is the more probable, because our blessed
Saviour uses those words of prophecy respecting it, which
we know do refer to, and which will have their more
entire fulfilment on the Day of Judgment ; when St.
John tells us, in the Apocalypse, they will say " to the
mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the
face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath
of the Lamb u." For although what is here said of the
last Day in the Revelation was literally the case, as
Josephus records, in those that escaped the destruction of
Jerusalem, when " they hid themselves in the dens and in
the rocks of the mountains ;" and although the same pro-
phecies in the Prophets Isaiah and Hosea had their fulfil-
10 Luke six. 43, 44. » Kev. vi. 16.

THE WOMEN LAMENTING 277

ment in some nearer national calamity, yet they do also
refer to the great Day of Judgment : certainly that in
Isaiah very distinctly, — " They shall go into the holes of
the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the
Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth
to shake terribly the earth "." Therefore it seems probable,
that as our Lord in His prophets spoke often of some
nearer event, while in the same words He looked forward
to one which was beyond, so He was now also doing the
same : in using the same words of an event which, as it
approached more nearly, developed in stronger characters
the type of the great Judgment. Quesnel alludes to our
Lord's words, as mystically containing this meaning.
"These words," he says, "are directed likewise to us,
because these calamities prefigure those of the damned
who shall seek death without being able to find it, and
shall suffer an eternal confusion." So likewise does the
other expression seem to refer not only to their temporal
sufferings, but also to the final condemnation of the
wicked, viz. "If they do these things in a green tree,
what will be done in the dry 1" For the " dry wood " is
a figure of the wicked, as the " dead " branches in the
parable of the vine ; and as the withered fig-tree. The
meaning seems to be, if an innocent person can suffer thus
in this present world, what will be the sufferings of the
wicked when the anger of God comes forth upon them ?
Nor is it any objection to our conceiving this to be our
Lord's meaning, that it could only be then taken in tin?
primary and lower sense by those to whom it was at first
addressed, for this is the nature of our Lord's expressions
generally ; for they are such as open higher meanings to
faith • and their true and worthier sense is hidden from
11 Jsa. ii. 19. Hosea x. 8.

278 THE HALL OF JUDGMENT

those who heard them. Fire cannot burn green wood,
neither can the judgment of God those who have no sin ;
afflictions cannot hurt us, excepting so far as we are
sinners ; these evils therefore could not hurt Christ,
because He was infinitely good, but must redound to
infinite good ; and they are no subject for tears, excepting
for the sins which occasion them, which are ours and not
His. Therefore His Cross was to Him a trophy and a
sceptre. He was the Tree of Life, and no fire of God's
wrath can hurt Him, nor those that are found in Him. But
what shall be the case when the fire of God's wrath breaks
forth on the dry wood ?

But with regard to this occasion, and the circumstances
when the words were spoken, we cannot but reverently
adore the exceeding carefulness of our Lord even now, in
watching for every occasion of doing good : and the admo-
nition we cannot but consider as intended for us all : that
when we feel our human sympathies and compassions
moved towards Him, at the recital of His sufferings, we
are to think that He turns to us, and tells us to think of
ourselves, and of our own sins, that occasioned those suf-
ferings ; that when we venture to approach and gaze on
Him, by these contemplations, we forget not ourselves also.
And we may observe, in general, that whenever any strong
feeling is evinced towards our Lord by His followers, that
His manner was to turn and check them, by reminding
them of their own frailty. Thus, when St. Peter said he
would die with Him, He warned him that he would deny
Him : to the man who said he would follow Him where-
soever He went, He answered that the Son of Man had not
where to lay His head : to the people in the temple who
" hung on " His words, He told the parable of the man at
the marriage supper without the wedding garment, and his

THB WOMEN LAMENTING 279

fearful end : to the multitudes that follow Him, He turns
to say, that no one can be His disciple without taking up
His cross daily.

In all the persons concerned we may see some state of
human nature which requires being brought to the Cross
of Christ, in order to be healed. Ardent zeal in St. Peter
is here taught the danger of self-confidence ; patient
courage here derives the highest of all blessings and
rewards in St. John ; covetousness is shown in its true
colours in Judas ; ambition has its lesson in the crown of
thorns and the robe of blood ; justice without courage is
shown in Pilate; injustice with cruelty in the Chief
Priests ; wanton cruelty in the soldiers ; lastly, in all of
them is shown what men may come to when they per-
secute and condemn the innocent blood. So likewise now
affectionate feeling is shown in the women, and receives
its correction in that school of all wisdom ; the female sex
being, as St. Cyril says, more susceptible of piety, but
needing self-discipline. And Theophylact says, " Infirmity
of mind, which is signified by the women, if it adopts
contrition of heart, and weeps through penitence, it follows
Jesus who is afflicted for our salvation." "We may observe
also something instructive to ourselves in this, that before
the Chief Priests, and Herod, and Pilate, our Lord was
silent ; but to these He speaks. 0 gracious boon ! blessed
indeed are they that weep, and blessed are they that
mourn, for they hear Christ speaking to them ! The rich
and the great are regardless of His sorrows, or only know
them to add to them : but God gathers around Him the
women and the poor to receive His instructions, and to
witness His perfect example of meek suffering. And His
words are our life : He wept Himself, and He calls us to
weep with Him over guilty Jerusalem, and to partake of

»
280 THE CRUCIFIXION

His sorrows : but it is for ourselves we are to weep both
in His and our own sorrows. The contemplation of Christ
crucified is our best protection against our own calamities.
It is observable that the children sang Hosannahs to
Hia praise l ; the women wept ; the men cried out, Crucify
Him.

SECTION II— THE CRUCIFIXION

" They pierced My hands and My feet. I may tell all My bones.
They stand staring and looking upon Me."

GOLGOTHA

THUS was our blessed Lord dragged along, up the hill of
shame and sorrows, and with Him thus conducted to
execution "were led" says the Evangelist, " two other
malefactors, to be put to death with Him " (Luke), mark-
ing, as it were, by the very mode of expression, the fulfil-
ment of that prophecy, that He should be "numbered
with the transgressors V For as if to add to His shame,
He is put in company with them, and mentioned almost
as if He were one of them. And now at length " they
had come to the place" (Matt., Luke), or as St. Mark says,
after mentioning the person who was supporting His cross,
" and they bear Him to the place " (Mark), it was a "place
which is in Hebrew" (John) "called Golgotha" (Matt.,
Mark, John), " which is, being interpreted " (Mark), " the
place of a skull" (Matt., Mark, Luke, John). The spot
l See Holy Week, p. 59. * Tsa. liii. 12.

GOLGOTHA 281

was probably so called from the skulls, and dead bones,
which remained there after former executions, as if it had
been a charnel-house. It was the place of the condemned,
the pkce where death itself appeared in the most disgust-
ing shape, and revolting to humanity, among the bones oi
the dead, and those dead under the execution of the law,
the most abject of mankind ; that " where sin abounded,
grace might much more abound." " Jesus was, on this
account, crucified there," says St. Jerome, "that where
there had formerly been the place. of the condemned, the
standard of martyrdom might be erected." " Our bones
lie scattered before the pit, like as when one breaketh and
heweth wood upon the earth. But mine eyes look unto
Thee, 0 Lord God : in Thee is my trust8." But some
allude to a very extraordinary tradition for the name of
this place. Origen says, " of the place of a skull, it has
come to us that the Hebrews have a tradition that the
body of Adam was buried there ; that as in Adam all die,
so in Christ shall all be made alive4." St. Athanasius
and St. Jerome both allude to the same report, but St.
Jerome adds that there is no truth in it : St. Athanasius
comments on the report as very remarkable, though he
does not assert its authenticity. St. Basil also dwells on
the same.

But as many emblems have a good interpretation com-
bined with them, as well as an evil, it is curious to observe
that St. Cyril 6 considers that the naming of this place was
fulfilled in our blessed Lord Himself, as if it were the
place of our Head. For Christ is " the Head of the Body,
the Church." And " the Head of every man is Christ."
And He is "the Head of all principality and power."

J Ps. cxli. 8, 9. < 1 Cor. xv. 22. In Matt. Comm. 126.

• Lect. xiii. 22.

282 THE CRUCIFIXION

Whether therefore it was the place of Adam's burial or
not, it is the place of the condemned ; and it has become
the place of our Head, "which is Christ:" who suffered
there in the place of us, who are condemned by human
and Divine law.

There are other points worthy of notice in the place of
our Lord's death. " He suffered without the gate," says
Quesnel, " in order to show us that we are not to expect
sanctification from the sacrifices offered within that city,
and that He died not for them only, but for all mankind V
And there was a fitness in this, that our Lord's death
should be under the open expanse of Heaven, as a spec-
tacle to all the Angels of Heaven, and to all men. St.
Chrysostom beautifully observes, that " the Lord did not
wish to suffer under a roof, nor in a Jewish temple, that
you may not think He was offered for that people alone ;
but without the city and without the walls, that you may
know it was a Sacrifice for all, and an oblation for the
whole earth, and purification for alL" He also observes,
that by our Lord being suspended in the air, and not
under a roof, the very nature of the air was cleansed ; in
like manner as by the blood dropping from His side the
earth derived a similar blessing*. In another place St.
Chrysostom says, " By dying in the air, He expiates the
air from evil spirits, and prepares for us an ascent to
Heaven." And St. Athanasius in like manner8 mentions
that our Lord's suffering aloft in the air, was there also
His " pursuing the old serpent, that from thence also He
might drive him who had the power of the air, and cast
down spiritual wickedness in high places. Nor did He
omit to heal the earth also. For, by hanging on the Cross,

• On St. Matt. 7 In Serm. de Pass.

8 De Pass, et Grace Domini.

GOLGOTHA 28S

He cleansed the air by the expansion of His hands ; and
redeemed the earth by the water and blood ol His side,
by which it was washed." The Cross itself, as it was pre-
figured by numberless types, beforehand ; and has become
full of wisdom and instruction to after-ages : so is it in
itself replete with spiritual mysteries. Well, indeed, may
the very shape of the cross, extending four ways, above,
and below, and on either side, set before us the depth, and
length, and breadth, and height of the love of Christ.
Deep fixed in earth, extending up to Heaven, in its arms
embracing all mankind : fulfilling that typical prophecy
referred to by ancient writers, as expressive of the earnest
appeal of our Lord's tedious death, "All the day long
have I stretched forth My hands to a disobedient and
gainsaying people." Encompassing the world in His out-
stretched arms, and not that only, but also lifting up His
hands to Heaven. As St. Paul says ', " making peace
through the blood of His Cross, for things in Heaven, and
things in earth." And what was the nailing but that, as
St. Cyril says, "His Manhood, which bore the sins of
men, being nailed to the Tree, and dying, sin might die
with it." Thus the Cross, which was a dead and accursed
wood, being touched by the bleeding, but quickening Body
of Christ, hath become the tree of Life, that tree of which
David spake in the first Psalm, that groweth by the
M-aturs, the streams of Baptism. The tree which hath
filled the whole earth, so that the fowls of the air lodge
in the branches, and the beasts of the field are sheltered
beneath its shade. Though it appeared dead wood, yet,
like the rod of Aaron, it hath sprouted forth and budded,
when it became the property of the true Priest after the
order of M«-l«-hi7.«'dec. The dead wood hath sprouted forth
• Col. i. 20.

284 THE CRUCIFIXION

with bud, and branch, and leaf. And its " leaves are for
the healing of the nations." This is " the Tree of Life "
by the waters that flow from beneath "the throne of
God10:" and "the Tree of the knowledge of good and
evil " is not far from it in the garden of the Lord : for we
have thence come to know the evil of man, and the good-
ness of God, and yet may approach unto the Tree of Life.

THE WINE AND MYRRH

THE blessed Jesus was, we may well suppose, at this time
so overcome from the agonies of His mind on the former
night, and the inflictions He had already undergone, as
not to be able to sustain Himself. It may have been
therefore in order to support Him for His execution on
account of the exhaustion which He evinced ; or it may
have been from mildness on the part of the soldiers ; or it
may be from their being mitigated at hearing our Lord's
prayer for them ; (but probably it was before that prayer ;)
or it may have been, as the expression of the Psalmist
would suggest, done in scorn. " They (the soldiers) gave
Him to drink " (Matt., Mark) " vinegar mingled with gall "
(Matt.). This vinegar was probably the common drink or
wine of the soldiers, mingled with some bitter ingredient
as a restorative ; and St. Mark calls it " wine mingled with
myrrh " (Mark). Myrrh, says St. Cyril, is of the taste of
gall, and exceeding bitter *. St. Augustin makes the same
remark, and says that St. Matthew may call it "gall"
from its bitterness : or that perhaps both gall and myrrh
were used for that purpose. But our blessed Lord, " when
He had tasted it" as if not sullenly declining, and yet not
»° Rev. xxii. 1, 2. l I>ot. xiii.

THE WINE AND MYRRH

wishing to receive any thing to mitigate His voluntary
Bufferings, when He perceived what it was, " was not will
ing to drink " (Matt.). And " He received it not " (Mark).
Perhaps St. Mark may have altered the expression " vine-
gar," into that of " wine," under the Divine control, to
indicate that this was not the fulfilment of the prophecy,
" they gave Me vinegar to drink V For that we find from
St. John was unfulfilled, till our Lord said, " I thirst," at
last, with the intention of fulfilling it ; and we may sup-
pose this to have been some bitter substance composed of
gall and myrrh, either of a stimulant and restorative, or,
as Dr. Hammond thinks, of a poisonous and deadening
nature, and was the fulfilment of the former part of the
verse, " they gave Me gall to eat." We cannot venture
further into that mystery, why our Lord "tasted" and
" received it not," but may humbly suppose He wished to
teach us, not to lessen the sense of pain by such means
when God chastens us. And the Psalmist's expression
would infer, that the gall which was given to eat was,
from its nauseous nature, or some other reason, intended
to add to His pain. Perhaps the gall was added as some-
thing more loathsome ; for no refinement of torture was
omitted.

THEY CRUCIFY HIM

AND now at this place " they crucify Him " (Luke, John).
The picture of His death is simply set forth by a Latin
writer, " hanging upon the wood, attached to it with nails,
driven through their hands and their feet, they were killed
by a protracted death, and lived a long time on the cross ;
not because a longer life was an object of choice, but
» Ps. Ixix. 22.

286 THE CRUCIFIXION

because death itself was lengthened that their pain might
not be too soon at an end. But the Jews, in choosing
this death for Him, did so only as being the worst of all
deaths, but it was chosen by the Lord while they under-
stood it not ; for when He had thus overcome the devil,
it was this Cross that He was going to place as His trophy
on the foreheads of the faithful V " It was by the wisdom
of God," says St. Austin, " undertaken for our example,
that we might not only not fear death, but even no kind
of death ; for among all kinds of death, none was more
execrable and more dreadful than this4." And in another
place 5 he says, " Observe of what great virtue is the Cross ;
Adam despised the command, taking the apple from the
tree ; but what Adam hath lost, Christ hath found on the
Cross. An ark of wood delivered mankind from the
deluge of waters. When the people of God were depart-
ing from Egypt, Moses with a rod divided the sea, over-
threw Pharaoh, and ransomed the people of God. The
same Moses sent the wood into the water, and turned the
bitter water into sweetness. By the rod of wood, the
saving wave is brought forth from the Spiritual Eock.
And it was not without the rod that Amalek was over-
come, when Moses was stretched forth with his extended
hands : and the Law of God is committed to the ark of
the Covenant made of wood ; that by all of these, as it
were through certain steps, they might arrive at length
at the wood of the Cross." And Theophylact observes to
this effect, that from the tree, and from the pleasure
resulting therefrom, came death ; and from the Tree, and
from the pains thereon sustained, came life. Thus did
the Lord, like Moses, seize the old Serpent, from which

3 Eabanus Maurus. Aur. Cat. 4 Lib. 83. Qnaest.

5 In Senn. de Passione.

THEY CRUCIFY HIM 287

human nature fled, and it hath become a rod in His hand,
the rod of God, with which He will work wonders in the
land of Egypt ; delivering His chosen out of the house of
bondage, and dividing the sea as a way for His ransomed
to pass over.

And "with Him they crucify" (Mark), or "are crucir
fied" (Matt.), "two others" (John), "the malefactors"
(Luke), "two thieves" (Matt., Mark); and three of the
Evangelists add, as if with a mysterious significancy,
though they knew not its import, " one on the right hand
and one on the left " (Matt., Mark, Luke), and St. John,
" on this side and on the other, and Jesus in the midst "
(John). "And the Scripture was fulfilled which saitht
And He was numbered with the transgressors" (Mark).
Himself in the midst by way of derision, as affording Him
the distinction of the most honourable position among
thieves ; but thus were His two associates in suffering set,
the one on the right, and the other on the left of their
Saviour and their Judge. So it is with those who are
afflicted in this life, some thereby are brought to a sense
of their own sins, and have their hearts opened to behold
Christ Crucified, and are set on His right hand in glory as
they were in suffering. Others are but hardened by the
same sufferings, and not led thereby to hallow His name.
Ven. Bede applies it still more closely, to those who
suffer in religion's name, but some from love of Christ,
others of human glory. And St. Augustin beautifully
observes, that " the very cross was the tribunal of Christ,
for the Judge was placed in the middle, one thief, who
believed, was set free ; the other, who reviled, was con-
demned ; which signified what He was already about to
do with the quick and dead ; being about to set some on
His right hand, but others at His left." St. Hilary, also,

288 THE CRUCIFIXION

in like manner, says, " that this showed that the whole of
mankind were brought to the sacrament of His Passion \
the unbelievers being set on His left hand ; and those who
are justified by faith being on His right hand V And St.
Leo observes, that by this was set forth the separation that
was to take place among all mankind by His Judgment.
So that the Passion of Christ contains within it the sacra-
ment of our salvation ; and of that instrument which the
wickedness of the Jews had provided for His punish-
ment, the power of the Eedeemer made a step to glory.
But Theophylact considers these two on the cross to re-
present " the Jews and the Gentiles, both of which were
transgressors, one of the law of nature, the other of the
written law, which the Lord had delivered them. But
the Gentile was penitent, the Jew reviled Him unto the
end. In the middle of both the Lord is Crucified, for He
is the Corner stone by which both are joined in one."

CHRIST PRAYING FOR HIS MURDERERS

IT was now, when they had come to the very crisis of
their torture, and were crucifying Him, and, as it is sup-
posed, while they were in the act of driving the nails into
the most sensitive part of His hands or His feet, " Jesus
said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they
do " (Luke). By the expression " Father," was He not
only preferring the highest of all claims, as the Only-
begotten of the Father ; but also setting forth the per-
fection of that Sonship, in the very image of the Father's
goodness, of which He had Himself spoken ; " pray for
them which despitefully use you, — that ye may be the
children of your Father which is in Heaven7." "This
« In Matt. cap. xxxiii. 5. 1 Matt. v. 44. 45.

CHRIST PRAYING FOR HIS MURDERERS 289

prayer He uttered," says St. Chrysostom, " as He ascended
the Cross, not but that He might have Himself forgiven
them without it ; but that He might teach us, not by word
only but in deed, to pray for our persecutors. And when
He says * forgive them/ it implies, if they should repent ;
to assist those that would repent, that after a wickedness
so great, they might wash out their guilt through faith."
As of old, the people were murmuring against God, wher
Moses struck the Rock, and the waters of salvation gushed
out for them ; and they were murmuring against Him,
when God sent down the Manna from Heaven. Thus
overcoming their obduracy by His goodness, He embraced
them now in the arms of His mercy, when they were
inflicting His death.

It is possible, indeed, that the prayer may have been
offered in behalf of the Roman soldiers, who were engaged
in inflicting on our Lord this bodily torture, and perhaps
doing so, as they had before mocked Him, with merciless
rigour. For they truly knew not what they did, but wert
only executing the sentence of the Jews, who knew better
what they were about. If this be the case, it would be
another circumstance, in addition to those mentioned,
which tended to throw the guilt on the Jew, and to
exculpate the Gentile. And this would account for the
destruction which came on the Jews and on Jerusalem, as
not being included in this prayer. But it seems better to
understand it, that this prayer included all parties who
had u share in His death, as being the first-fruits of His
Passion, the most availing of all prayers, the Prayer offered
on the Cross. And it is for these Jews that St. Stephen
also prays, in imitation of Christ ; and as the prayer of
St. Stephen obtained St. Paul, much more may this
prayer have gained those many thousands that soon after

U

290 THE CRUCIFIXION

believed. And one thing is certainly very remarkable,
that as St. Paul, the chief person concerned in the death
of St. Stephen, has been supposed to have been granted
to the dying prayer of that Martyr ; so likewise the Cen-
turion, who, in the fulfilment of his office, must have pre-
sided over the execution of this act of cruelty, even if he
did not himself perform it, is the person on this very day
who makes confession of " the Son of God." This may
have been the first visible answering of our Lord's prayer,
and fruits of His death ; and this man also, like St. Paul,
more especially had " done it ignorantly in unbelief."

Nor indeed are the Jews themselves excluded from this
plea of our Lord's, for we have the testimony of Scripture
that they also in some sense " knew not what they did."
Thus St. Peter testifies of them, "I wot that through
ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers '." And St.
Paul, " had they known it, they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory V And our Lord Himself had said to
them, "ye neither know Me, nor my Father10." And of those
who should persecute His Apostles He had said, " whoso-
ever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
And these things will they do, because they have not
known the Father, nor Me1." They had indeed said,
" this is the heir, come let us kill Him." They knew that
they were murdering an innocent man ; yet they knew
Him only as the Son of man ; and " whosoever speaketh
against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him;" and
therefore they were in a condition capable of pardon.
They knew Him not as the Son of God, nor as such had
He been fully manifested before them ; and therefore they
were not guilty of the sin against the Holy Ghost. But

» Acts iii. 17. 9 1 Cor. ii. 8.

Jf John viii. 19. * John xvi. 3.

CffK/ST PRAYING FOR HIS MURDERERS 291

Judas indeed, who was admitted so near to Him, might
have known Him as the Son of God. For this sin tlu-iv-
fore of our Lord's death, the Jews were admissible to
repentance and pardon ; and therefore the Apostles were
sent to preach to them. And it was not till afterwards,
when they rejected the Holy Ghost, that they were de-
stroyed as a nation. So that not only was our Lord
Himself to them the sign of the Prophet Jonah, but Ho
Himself also, according to that sign, like Jonah, went and
preached to them ; with an analogous but with far greater
indulgence, for He said not, " yet forty days " and the
city " shall be overthrown f," but — yet forty years. Yet
they repented not, and therefore " the men of Nineveh
shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall con-
demn it." And in Ven. Bede 8 we find this our interpre-
tation confirmed to this effect, — " we cannot suppose," he
says, " that He here prayed in vain, but that He obtained
that which He prayed for, in those who believed in Him
after His Passion. We must notice in truth, that He
prayed not for those who understood that they were cru-
cifying the Son of God, and were not willing to confess
Him, but for those who knew not what they did, having
a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." " But
after the Crucifixion," says a Greek writer4, "the plea of
ignorance could not profit them, when working miracles
proclaimed Him aloud to be God." At all events, we can-
not doubt but that this prayer prevailed mightily with
God, infinitely beyond every prayer. For if others, which
were but the types of this prayer, were heard on account
of their faint similitude to it, as the prayer of Jonah from
the belly of the whale ; and that of Daniel from the den
of lions ; and that of the Three Children from the midst
» Jonah iii. 4. « Aurea Catena. 4 Ibid,

u '2

292 THE CRUCIFIXION

of the furnace ; and that of Hezekiah from his bed of
sickness; and that of the Psalmist which prefigured it
when he said, " Thou hast heard me also from among the
horns of the unicorns V' much more is Christ Himself
heard from the wood of torment. Nay, indeed, so deep
is one's sense of the mysterious efficacy of this the most
availing of all prayers, that it is of itself a reason which
would induce one to expect that the restoration of that
guilty nation is literally to be fulfilled, in whatever secret
manner it may take place. But very awful and alarming
are the grounds on which the plea of the prayer is offered ;
for Christ prays for them, because they did it " ignorantly
in unbelief," knowing not what they did ; and though we
know not the full meaning of this appeal, yet we know
that, " if we sin wilfully after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there reinaineth no more sacrifice
for sins V

THE TITLE ON THE CROSS

AT the place of execution it was usual to write up the
charge on which the malefactor was put to death ; and we
read, "Pilate wrote a title and placed it on the Cross" (John);
" they set over His head His accusation written" (Matt.),
"This is" (Matt., Luke) "Jesus" (Matt., John) " of Naza-
reth" (John), " the King of the Jews" (Matt., Mark, Luke,
John). "Noio this title read many of the Jews, because the
place where Jesus was crucified was near the city" (John).
It seems to have been something of a public thoroughfare,
or near a road passing by, as we read afterwards of per-
sons "passing along" that way. It may be observed,
5 Ps.'xxii. 21. 6 Heb. x. 26.

THE TITLE ON THE CROSS 293

that all the four Evangelists agree in giving the important
title, " the King of the Jews." Their discrepancy in
other respects is nothing more than that of some giving
more words than others, and may he accounted for hy this
circumstance. Pilate, for the more effectual expression of
his anger and contempt of the Jews, who had forced him
to an action to which he was so averse, and now the more
angry with them because angry with himself, was deter-
mined that the charge which the Jews urged might he
known to all nations, who were now met together at
Jerusalem for the Feast. According to his direction,
therefore, "it was icritten up in Hebrew, Greek, and
Latin " (John). " Now the inscription was written over
Him" says St. Luke, "in Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew"
I Uit though it appeared to happen thus fortuitously, yet
here again was there a superhuman control that swayed
the wild passions that dictated, and the hand that wrote
the words : the Finger of God was in it, and it was the
same Hand that wrote up the indelible characters at the
Feast at Babylon. For, first of all, in this inscription
does our Lord claim for Himself all of us, as our King.
He claims us as purchased to Him in a higher way than
any King ever purchased a kingdom ; purchased not by
the death of others, but by His own death ; a Kingdom
of the Cross obtained by meekness, and to be inherited
by the meek : a Kingdom of suffering. Death is the
origin of His Kingly power, and they who would reign
with Him must die to the world. All this His Title
teaches and claims. But to the Jews this inscription
marks in threefold characters, as indelible, their guilt,
while they were endeavouring to cause, but not to inflict
His death, it became the more signally written up in the
eyes of all the world in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.

294 THE CRUCIFIXION

Moreover, by being written up in three languages, it
declares to every nation under Heaven that " This is the
King of the Jews." It is the execution of the Divine
command, — " Tell it out among the heathen that the Lord
is King." It is written in every language, for " every
tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Lord." It is written
in Hebrew, and in Greek, and in Latin. The Law is of
the Hebrews, and the Greek boasts of his wisdom, and
the Eoman of his power. But they are all told hereby
that the true Law, true Wisdom, and true Power, is found
in Christ alone. He alone is the true King, making all
to obey Him in perfect obedience, perfect wisdom, and
perfect power. 0 wonderful mysteriousness, 0 myste-
rious Providence, swaying the caprice of men to its own
great purpose ! But it may be asked, why is it " the King
of the Jews," and not of the Gentiles also ? for it is
written, " I will make Thee the Head of the heathen."
Yet this is as it were by conquest, for it is said especially,
" Jutiah is my Law-giver ; " " Out of Judah shall go
forth a Euler j" " On My Holy Hill of Sion have I set
My King;" " Out of Sion hath God appeared in perfect
beauty." The Jews are His by birth, the Gentiles by
possession : for when it is said, " I have set my King on
My Holy Hill of Sion," it is added, " Desire of Me, and
I will give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and
the utmost parts of the earth for Thy possession." In the
King of the Jews is prophecy fulfilled ; the Gentiles
acknowledge Him, but as King of the Jews. The Gentiles
acknowledge Him, but as King of them who are of the
circumcision, the true circumcision of the heart. In
Judah is the true olive stock, but we are grafted in, being
wild by nature. And the despised Nazarene shall be His
title also : for this too the beloved disciple added, in

THE TITLE ON THE CROSS 296

affectionate remembrance of His early abode ; for it was
said, " Shall any good thing come out of Nazareth 1" and
the answer was here given, " Come and see V And here
was it fulfilled that He should be called a Nazarene — the
true Nazarite. And this despised name of contempt was
perhaps written in the language alone of those who knew
that country, and therefore given by St. John alone,
himself a Galilean.

Here therefore our Lord preaches to all the world in
silence from His Cross, when He could no longer go about
and teacli with language such as man never spake : and
herein was it signally fulfilled, — " to whom He was not
spoken of, they shall see ; and they that have not heard
shall understand V

But the wicked, while they endeavour to extricate them-
selves from the net of all-involving Providence, do but
tighten the knots, and render them the more inextricable.
For now the Jews, being ashamed of the scorn of Pilate,
endeavour to have the Title altered, as if it were only OUT
Lord's declaration, and not their charge, and His admis-
sion, who is Truth Himself : but this their attempt marks
it out to all ages as written not to be obliterated, and
doubly sure. For " the Chief Priests of the Jews said
therefore unto Pilate, Write not the King of the Jews, but
that that man said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate
answered, What I have written, I have written " (John).
There is a sort of Divine and energetic emphasis in the
double declaration. For may we not reverently suppose
that He who made Caiaphas to prophesy because he was
the High Priest, though he knew not of what he spake,
caused Pilate also to write, and emphatically to confirm
what he had written, because he was a Governor, and a
7 John i. 46. a Isa. lii. 15.

THE CRUCIFIXION

" power ordained of God " *{ That not his writing only,
but his assertion also, as of one, though he knew not,
admitting its truth, might be for ever known. And this
very assertion was another instance, as throughout, of the
Jews rejecting their King, and the Gentile acknowledging
Him as the King of the Jews. " 0 the inefiable power,"
says St. Chrysostom, " of the Divine operation which
worketh even in the hearts of those that know not of it !
Was there not a secret voice in the very heart of Pilate,
which sounded aloud to him, as it were, by a sort of
clamorous silence ? " " Pilate," says Quesnel, " from being
the Judge of Christ, seems to become His first Apostle to
the Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews, publishing to them
His reign upon and by the Cross." In another place the
same writer says, " The Holy Ghost, Master both of the
tongue and hands of the wicked, makes them to speak
truth when they desire to ridicule."

With regard to this superscription it is further to be
observed, that our Lord is not only " King of Salem," but,
as the true Melchizedec, He is Priest also. Not only as a
King was He drawing the hearts of all men unto Him, by
being lifted up on the Cross ; but also as a Priest He was
offering up the sacrifice of His own Body on the Cross.
So the title on the Cross set forth His kingly dignity; and,
as the Chief Priest carried on his head " holiness unto the
Lord," according to the letter of the law, so "Jesus," as
Origen observes, " the true Chief Priest and King, bore
His title written on the Cross; and ascending unto the
Father, instead of the letters and the name, He has Him
Himself who is named : He bears His Father for His
crown, and is rendered worthy of Him9." Where Origen
seems to allude to that expression of St. Paul's, that " the
9 In Matt. Com. 130.

THE TITLE ON THE CROSS 207

head of Christ is God10." It was indeed from this His
Cross that God received Him as King of the Jews, and
said unto Him, " Sit Thou on My right hand, till I make
Thine enemies Thy footstool."

Of this inscription, thus done in mere derision and
mockery, St. Jerome observes, that it served to prove how
utterly futile was every other ground and charge that they
could bring against Him, for sedition and the like. And
Bede says, that " it was thus divinely provided, that not
even by slaying Him could they effect it, that they should
not have Him for their King : for by the death of the
Cross He did not lose, but rather confirmed and strength-
ened His kingdom." " It showed," says Theophylact,
" the craftiness of the devil's wiles against Christ, that the
accusation should be written up in a threefold character ;
that it should escape the notice of no one that passed by,
that He had made Himself a King : but what did it
signify, but that the powerful, the wise, and the wor-
shippers of God, the Roman, the Greek, and the Jew, were
to be subject to His kingdom 1 To human eyes, indeed, it
seemed as if His kingdom was set at nought, and destroyed,
but it was rather amplified thereby." And all this, it is
to be observed, is brought about by the unbelief of the
Jews, When the birth of his son was foretold to Zacha-
rias, he believed it not ; but by his unbelief it was occa-
sioned and procured that the name of the Baptist was
written by himself on a tablet, as well as declared by the
Angel. And now, by the unbelief of the Jews and Gen-
tiles, it is brought about, not only that Christ should bo
declared King by God Himself, but that it should be
written up before all people through means of their unbe-
lief. For in writing there is conveyed a stronger and
lu I Cor. xi. 3.

298 THE CRUCIFIXION

more emphatic confirmation, than in words spoken. Thus
is the great purpose of God established, but 'by means of
Jewish infidelity.

THE GARMENTS

WE come now to stand among the spectators, on Mount
Calvary, not idly to gaze, but to adore therein the awful
presence of God. And here a variety of circumstances
occur, such as would naturally happen among the actors
and spectators of such a scene ; such as human motive, or
fortuitous incident, might give rise to ; whether it be from
the exultations of gratified malice, or from wanton cruelty,
or the customary proceedings of such an execution, or
from the reverence and sympathy of friends/ But when
we discern therein God's presence, all things are changed,
every word and action is weighed in the balances of God's
sanctuary. For the case is, in fact, nothing else but that
the Word of God had gone forth in prophecy, and that all
events, though the actors in them thought not and knew
not of it, were arranging and marshalling themselves in
order, and coming forth at the fiat of God's Almighty
Word. For, as not a sparrow falleth to the ground, nor a
hair from the head, without His knowledge, much more
was every incident regulated by Almighty Wisdom, and
recorded with Divine purpose, respecting the death of His
own Son. As He had expressly prescribed circumstances
apparently most trivial in all those forms of ceremonial
Worship which attended on the legal sacrifices, which
were but the shadows of this Great Sacrifice ; much more
hath He ordained with infinite care, and in infinite wisdom,
every word that should be spoken, every act that should
be done in the immediate presence and offering up of

THE GARMENTS 299

Jesus Christ. And, as we reverently suppose, that all
things going before, and prophetic words spoken, had an
eye to this Great Sacrifice ; so also may we venture to
conclude that these things, which now occurred, were fall
of Divine import, with regard to things that were to come.
Every thing is mysterious in this season of mysteries;
every thing becomes Divine that approaches the Cross,
and partakes of its Heavenly radiance. It was that
radiance that lighted all things before, and which shall
light up all things hereafter. And what there occurs,
with regard to Christ's natural Body, may prefigure
what shall occur with regard to His spiritual Body, the
Church.

First of all, the soldiers, — as soon as they had stripped
our blessed Lord of His garments, and had suspended
Him naked on the Cross, — began to divide among them-
selves, what was their customary perquisite upon such an
execution, the garment which the Holy Jesus had worn.
He, like Joseph, was about to flee from this evil and adul-
terous world, and leave His garment in its hands. St.
Chrysostom supposes that this circumstance of their shar-
ing His garments between them was, of itself11, " a mark
of peculiar humiliation and abjectness, as done to the very
vilest of men, for we do not read of any thing of the
kind being done in the case of the thieves ; but only to
those who were so abject as to have nothing else to be
divided." And, indeed, He has no earthly riches, but
these poor garments, they are all He has ; and even these
He gives to others, and parts with them before His death,
that He may die in utter nakedness and shame. He gave
clothing to Adam, to cover his shame ; and now takes on
Himself the shame and nakedness of Adam. But those

11 Horn.

300 THE CRUCIFIXION

garments which He gave Adam, and these which He now
bequeaths to the soldiers, are but the types of those
Spiritual gifts, and that Spiritual clothing, which He has
left to us, who are transgressors like Adam ; who are His
enemies, like the soldiers. " Such as the first man was,"
says St. Ambrose, " when he dwelt in Paradise ; such was
the Second, when He entered thither." And St. Athanasius
with great beauty \ " He laid aside His garments : for it
was meet, that in leading men into Paradise, He should
unclothe Himself of those garments which Adam received
when he was cast out of Paradise. For when Adam sinned,
and was thereafter to die, he received coats of skins, which
were made of dead animals, and were the symbols of the
dying which had come upon him on account of sin. But
the Lord, in taking upon Himself all things for our sakes,
clothed Himself with these, in order that He might also
strip Himself of the same, and instead of these might
clothe us with life and immortality. "

These Divine garments, from the very hem of which
" virtue went forth and healed them all," we may well
suppose were, of all things that hand of man had ever
framed, the most worthy of being expressly spoken of by
all of the four Evangelists, and by the Prophet beforehand.
And so it is. For we read "when they had crucified
Him " (Matt., Mark), " they divided among themselves His
garments" (Matt., Mark, Luke), "casting lots'1 (Matt.,
Mark, Luke) "upon them, what each one should take"
(Mark). " So that that which was spoken by the Prophet "
(Matt.) " and the Scripture" (John) " might be fulfilled"
(Matt., John), " which saith " (John), in the twenty-second
Psalm, " They parted My garments among themt and cast
lots upon My vesture" (Matt., John). Now from the account
1 Senn. de Pass, et Crnce Dom.

THE GARMENTS 301

in St. Matthew alone we might have had some difficulty
in ascertaining how both parts of this prophecy were
fulfilled ; for the prophecy speaks of two things, the divid-
ing His garments, and also at the same time the casting
lots for His vesture. Or some might have imagined that
the prophecy only spoke in a general manner, and that a
close accuracy of expression was not to be looked for ; or
that the casting the lots merely referred to the division of
the garments, according as St. Mark's account mentions
that it took place, for each, it seems, took his own part by
lot. We have therefore great reason to be thankful that
the last Evangelist has supplied us with these particulars.
Every thing the beloved disciple speaks is so full of
Divinity, that it may well arrest our devoutest contem-
plations. " The soldiers therefore" he says, " when they
crucified Jesus, took His garments, and made four divisions,
to each soldier a part" The soldiers being evidently from
this circumstance four in number. "And" they took
" also His coat" or linen garment : " now His coat was
without seam, being woven from the top throughout the
whole. They said therefore one to another, Let us not
divide it, Imt let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be.
These things therefore the soldiers did " (John). The very
nature of the garment implies, as St. Chrysostom observes,
its meanness, for he says that in Palestine they were
usually made of two parts. And, indeed, if they are right
in their interpretation, who consider the coat of Joseph to
have been of many parts or colours, then it would be the
contrast to that of our Lord ; if Joseph's, for its costliness,
was of many colours, our Lord's, from its meanness, of one
piece, "without seam." For the types of our Lord were,
in many respects, "all glorious" without: but He Him-
self and His Church was more especially " all glorious "

302 THE CRUCIFIXION

within. At all events, this His garment was doubtless of
a mean quality, and their casting lots for it was probably
in a kind of mockery and derision, as for a thing so vile,
and yet the garment of a King.

Now when our Lord was on earth, many, no doubt,
thronged Him, and touched His clothes, but received no
benefit therefrom, because they did it without faith and
reverence : but those who did so, in faith and fear, as it is
said, "in fear and trembling," received inconceivable bles-
sing. With the same spirit of meekness may we approach
this subject. That this " coat without seam " or division,
" woven from the top throughout," signifies the one Holy
Catholic Church, is generally allowed by all, and has been
ever held of old to be the case. And this is according to
the analogy of Scripture, which we before alluded to,
when we observed that the rending of the Chief Priest's
robe signified the rending of the Jewish Church : but here
it may be observed, that it is not the external robe, as in
the Jewish High Priest, but the inner garment of Christ,
His Church being one in spiritual and internal union.

Thus St. Cyprian explains it in that well known passage,
in his treatise on the unity of the Church, wherein he
says — that " in the sacrament and sign of His garment,
Christ has declared the unity of His Church." It is
woven from the top throughout. " That vesture," he says,
" betokened unity, descending from above, coming, that is,
from Heaven and from the Father, which might not be
rent in any wise by the receiver or possessor, but which
preserved a coherence at once entire, substantial, and in-
separable. He cannot possess Christ's vesture, who rends
and divides Christ's Church." And after speaking of the
garment rent by the Prophet Ahijah, signifying that the
kingdom should be rent, he adds, " But in truth, because

THE GARMENTS 303

Christ's people cannot be divided, His coat woven through-
out and of one piece was not divided by those whom it
fell to ; entire, united, knit together, it shows the compact
union of us, the people who have put on Christ1." And
St. Augustin differs not from this in taking it for the unity
and charity of the Church, being without seam, and
coming entire to one person. Therefore indeed is the
Church called Catholic, as being one throughout the whole
from the top, though divided into various parts of the
world ; as the Apostles, though twelve, were but one, for
what they did is said to be done by Christ Himself, and
He is One ; One in Twelve. " And therefore it is," says
St. Austin, " that Christ, when speaking to all, yet speaks
unto Peter in the singular number ; * I give unto thee the
koys of the kingdom of Heaven V "

But St. Chrysostom observes, that some consider it to
imply " the Divinity of our Lord, which cometh down
from above, and therefore is that robe which could not be
divided or rent. He could not, as mere man, be destroyed
by death." And St. Athanasius * explains the robe, woven
from the top throughout, as signifying that " He who
was clothed therewith was not of earth, but the Word
which had come from above, and therefore not divisible,
but the undivisible Word of the Father." And again he
says, " The Gospel remains undivided while the shadows
are divided, the veils of the Jewish Temple. But this,"
he says, " was preserved entire by the power of Him who
was on the Cross." But St. Cyril of Alexandria says it
may be considered as signifying " the sacred Body of
the Lord, which was not formed in the natural way, but

* Lib. de Unit. Eccles. Tr. v. 6.

* Matt. xvi. 19. In Joan. Evang. Tract, cxviii.
4 De Pass, et Cruce Domini.

304 THE CRUCIFIXION

by the Holy Spirit coming down from above." And
Theophylact also takes the same view, that it may be thus
" considered as the most holy Body of the Lord, formed
by the Power of the Holy Spirit from above, and the
Power of the most High."

But, what is very remarkable, in this great variety of
interpretation, there exists, notwithstanding, much of
harmony and consistency. For they who say that it
signifies our Lord's Divine Nature, agree with those who
consider it as His human Body, inasmuch as both are
inseparably united together ; and they who express these
two opinions, yet both thus interpret it as of His coming
from above. And they, again, who consider this robe to
represent the Church, harmonize with these, because the
Church is the Spiritual Body of the Lord. Nor would
they differ from this who consider it may be interpreted
as meaning the unity of the Church, or that love on
which its well-being and life depend. Nor would this be
at variance with the first and highest signification of our
Lord's Divinity, for God is Love, and Christ is God : and
Love and Unity is the very condition of Christ's Presence
in His Church. The Church is His own Body : He is
Love : and His Church is Love.

And thus considering the garment without seam as the
Unity of the Church, we shall, without difficulty, admit
St. Augustin's interpretation6, that the four divisions of
the other garments signify the four quarters of the globe,
the north, south, east, and west, over which the Church

• St. Augustin's words are, " Quadripartita vestis Domini Jesu
.Christi, quadripartitam figuravit Ejus Ecclesiam, toto scilicet, qui
quatuor partibus constat, terrarum orbe diffusam, et omnibus
eisdem partibus sequaliter, id est concorditer, distributam." — In
Joan. Tract, crviii. 4.

THE GARMENTS 306

will be extended ; for, as he says, at the end of the world
the Angels "shall gather His elect from the four winds '."
Or, perhaps, we might venture to suppose that the four
quarters of the world would be the four soldiers which
divided these gifts among themselves. Of the divided
garments St. Athanasius says, that " these were divisible
and separated into four parts, because He carried them for
the sins of the whole world, which is divisible into four
parts, the east, west, north, and south ; and looking upon
Him as being clothed with these, St. John says, ' Behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the
world.'" And this also is compatible with what we
quoted before from the same writer, who explains the
garments, as representing those skins with which Adam
was clothed, in sign of our mortification, or of our dying
on account of sin.

But St. Ambrose T, in speaking of the four soldiers,
says, " They may, perhaps, be a type of the four Evange-
lists, who wrote up the title which all may read." And
when we consider that the number of four Evangelists
has been thought to be some adaptation to the four parts
of the world, there may be some secret harmony in all
these, as relative, in some way, to the four divisions. And
with regard to the Gospels themselves, it is remarkable
how the type applies. For though the Gospels are four,
yet the Gospel itself is but one ; perfect, entire, indivi-
sible : this is the inner garment, the outer garments are
the four. This oneness arises from the very nature of
what is Divine, as division arises from the imperfection of
man. For as the Church is one, so there is " one Body
and one Spirit ; — one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism ; —

* Matt. xxiv. 31. » Expos, in Luc. lib. *. 116.

X

306 THE CRUCIFIXION

one God and Father of all8 ;" — and so also one Gospel ; —
one in four : one of God, four men bearing the same : the
Divine indivisible ; the human divisible. And indeed
the Gospel may well be considered as the clothing of
Christ ; as Origen considers it in his Commentary on the
Transfiguration. For on that occasion it was, as one
might well suppose, this very same raiment of Christ, of
which He is stripped in death, which became " white and
glistering, so as no fuller on earth could whiten it V So
are these Gospels, when illuminated by the Holy Spirit,
though written by human hands, and clothing the Body
of Christ, describing His human actions, yet radiant with
Divinity.

Or again, from considering the one undivided robe as
love and charity, that very bond of peace, which preserves
thft One Holy Catholic Church in unity, we are led on to
consider the other garments as those diversities of gifts1
of which St. Paul speaks when he is proceeding to speak
of charity. For if the undivided robe is the Body of
Christ, so St. Paul describes these diversities of gifts as
representing the various limbs of the one Body, which is
Christ. There is but one Spirit, one inner garment of
the soul, which is love ; " above all things," or " over all
things," " put on charity, which is the bond of perfect-
ness." This alone will not fail, being alone imperishable,
but will cover us on that day from a multitude of sins,
being Christ's own Divine robe. And therefore to " put
on charity," and to " put on Christ," is one and the- same
thing. Nor is the interpretation of St. Jerome at variance
with this, for he says, that the garments are the Com-
mandments, by which Christ's Body, the Church, is
covered ; and the vesture is peace or unity.

8 Eph. iv. 4 — 6. 9 Mark ix. 3. l SiotpeVets

THE SPECTATORS 307

But these great and Divine gifts, represented by the
raiment of Christ, were shared Und divided, not hy good
and friendly men, but by the cruel soldiers who slew Him;
and so likewise, as we said before, we sinners of th<
Gentiles were the cause of His death ; and woe be to us
if we do not wrap around us His garment. This is what
He has left below, Spiritual gifts for us to share, and His
raiment of Evangelical righteousness ; not by works which
we have done, nor from any choice of our own, but, as it
were, by " lot," the inheritance given us by the election
of God. " It is granted," says Augustin, " not to the
merits or person of individuals, but by the secret judg-
ment of God." And St. Athanasius, " they cast lots for
His vesture, and He suffereth and alloweth this, that
Christ may become our inheritance ;" as the Psalmist
saith, " the Lord Himself is the portion of my inherit-
ance and of my cup. Thou shalt maintain my lot2."
Thus was Christ unclothed, that we might be clothed by
Him. He has gone away, but left His clothing : left His
Church, wherewith we by Him may be clothed, and put
on that wedding garment, which is Divine love. For
many are the diversities of gifts, but beneath all, and
above all, and more excellent than all, is charity.

THE SPECTATORS

THE soldiers having now performed their work, and

divided the (apparently mean) spoils, seated themselves

below the Cross to gaze on the agonies of the Sufferer.

" And sitting down, they watched Him there " (Matt.).

" And" in another place, " stood the people, gazing

3 De Pass, et Uruc. Dom. Ps. xvi. 6.

2

308 THE CRUCIFIXION

Him " (Luke) ; perhaps at a short distance off. And
beside this group of people, collected together as to a spec-
tacle, there were others passing by, whether intentionally
or by accident, who stopped to revile Him as they passed.
For as St. Luke speaks of the people that stood gazing,
St. Matthew and St. Mark speak of " those that were
going by." For indeed St. John had mentioned that it
was "near the city;" on which account he said, that
" many of the Jews read the inscription ;" it was therefore,
perhaps, on a place so public, that many went by near to
the Cross, so near as to read what was written on it : here
therefore perhaps it was, that " they that were going by
blasphemed Him " (Matt., Mark) ; and being, probably,
near enough to address Him, were "shaking their heads,
and saying" (Matt., Mark), "Ah/" (Mark) " Thou that
destroyest the Temple, and buildest it in three days, save
Thyself" (Matt., Mark). Thus wonderfully and awfully
were they applying to Him, unconsciously, those very
words, of His destroying the Temple, which He was in the
act of fulfilling according to His promise ; and using those
words not in accordance with His own expression, " ye
shall destroy," but with that of the false witnesses on that
morning, " I will destroy." And therein mysteriously
were they acknowledging the Omnipotence of Him that
was crucified, and their own impotence even in that act ;
they were acknowledging, unconsciously, that although it
was they who were destroying the Temple of God, as far
as their own purpose and evil will went, — yet that it was
He Himself who voluntarily, and of His own free accord,
laid down His life, or they could not have done it. Thus,
too, all things conspire to acknowledge God's Hand and
Presence. "If Thou be the Son of God" (Matt.), they
said, and thus bore testimony, while they thought it not,

THE SPECTATORS 309

to the declaration for winch He died, " If Thou be the Son
of God, come down from the Cross " (Matt., Mark).

Thus were they fulfilling great and Divine purposes, in
that every wild and idle word they spoke was bearing
witness to Christ; and sometimes were they using the
very expressions which holy prophecy had put in their
mouths. Little did they think that their very posture,
and their wayward and passionate movements, while they
spoke, were but those significant marks of scorn which
were accurately pourtrayed long before by the Psalmist.
Thus two Evangelists mention " their shaking their heads "
as they spoke ; and twice does the Psalmist mention the
same circumstance, " they shoot out their lips, and shake
their heads, saying 8;" and " they that looked upon Me,
shaked their heads V

It may be here observed, that as we had each part of
the nation combining in our Saviour's condemnation, so
have we them all now exulting in His sufferings ; if this
is said of the people, the Chief Priests and the Scribes and
the Pharisees also are described. For while the people
were thus reviling the most holy Eedeemer, " the Rulers
also, together with them, were deriding Him " (Luke) ; not
with those who were passing by beneath the Cross, but
with the people who stood aloof : it is not said that, with
the re vilers last described, they addressed our Lord Himself ,
but whether it was from being at a little further distance
from Him, or whether it was from feelings of contempt
and scorn, they are not described as the common people
were, as speaking to Him, but of Him, among themselves
or with the people. For, in speaking of those who reviled
Him as they passed, the Evangelists add, " in like manner,
also, the Chief Priests" (Matt., Mark), " one with anoth>. •/• "
' Ps. xrii. 7. « Ps. oix. 24.

310 THE CRUCIFIXION

(Mark), " mocking Him, together with the Scribes " (Matt.,
Mark) " and the Elders " (Matt.), " said, He saved others "
(Matt., Mark, Luke), " Himself He cannot save" (Matt.,
Mark). So desperately wicked is the human heart that
it came to this, — that while they exulted, in triumphant
malice, over Him whom they now had so thoroughly in
their power, as they thought, they reproached Him with
the very works of mercy He had done, even with the dead
man whom He had called from the grave, which they
seem to allude to. But, as they fulfilled every other desig-
nation, so did they also mark Him out now as " the
Saviour," and bear witness to Him as the true Jesus ; the
three Evangelists have recorded their words, " He saved
others." And as if professing themselves ready to receive
that sign of the Prophet Jonas, which our Lord said was
the only one that should he given them6, though they
knew not of what He spoke, " He saved others, let Him
save Himself, if He be the Christ, the chosen of God "
(Luke). " Let Christ, the King of Israel, come down now
from the Cross, that we may see and believe " (Mark).
Awful and portentous words ! for the hour cometh, and
now is, when He shall indeed come down, and " every eye
shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him V Yes,
would another say in reply, taking up the words, " If He
be the King of Israel, let Him come down now from the
Cross, and we will believe Him " (Matt.). But still were
they acknowledging Him ; still using the very words of
the Psalms ; still bearing testimony to His assertions, in
every word, act, movement : so does He who commands
the raging of the sea control also " the madness of the
people7," making them to speak His appointed words.

* Ministry, 2nd Year, pp. 156—159. 6 Rev. i. 7.

1 Ps.lxv.7.

THE SPECTATORS 311

" He trusted in God" said they, " let Him deliver Him now
if He will have Him ; for He said, I am the Son of God "
(Matt.). " Such things did they imagine, and were de-
ceived : as for the mysteries of God, they knew them not,
for their own wickedness hath blinded them8."

In this very mockery they confess Him the Saviour ;
for they say, " He saved others." They confess His trust
in God, for they say, " He trusted in God." They confess
His declaration that He was "the Son of God." They
confess by every word and action that He was " the Pro-
phet ;" for they speak and do nothing but what He fore-
tells of them in His word. They confess that He said,
He should rebuild His Temple in three days. They bear
witness by the inscription that He was " the King of the
Jews." But still their words in themselves were idle, and
not true. This very promise that they would believe, as
St. Jerome observes, was not true ; for He did more than
they asked for ; " to rise from the grave when dead was
far more than to descend from the Cross when alive ;" He
rose again, but they did not believe. For as our Lord had
Himself said, that if they would " not hear Moses and th«
Prophets," who so abundantly testified of all that was now
going on ; if they were deaf and blind to all they had fore-
told ; " neither will they be persuaded though one rose
from the dead." And, as to the other expressions, St.
Chrysostom says, " Being the children of the devil, how do
they imitate the very words of their father, for the devil
said, ' If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down ;'
and the Jews say, ' If Thou be the Son of God, come
down from the Cross.' "

But St. Jerome curiously observes of this expression,
that he thinks it must have been the instigation of drvils
• Wisd. ii. 21, 22.

312 THE CRUCIFIXION

which induced them to say this ; for as soon as the Lord
was crucified, they perceived the power of the Cross, and
understood that their strength was broken, and therefore
they do this that He might descend from the Cross. St.
Athanasius also attributes this to the machinations of the
devil ; he considers that " Satan had by this time per-
ceived from our Lord's invincible fortitude and patience
that His victory was in death, and that he was himself
being foiled and vanquished by his own wickedness ; and
suspecting that this was He of whom it is written, ' He
hath ascended up on high, He hath led captivity captive,'
he now turns all his arts to prevent His becoming a salva-
tion to others by His death ; for he knew full well that if
He descended from the Cross, the Jews would not believe
for all their saying so : he knew that the Lord dieth not,
but that the death of this man would become life and sal-
vation to all. Therefore he urged Him to come down from
the Cross; and made the Pharisees promise that they
would believe V Certain it is that nothing ever showed
more strongly the acts and instigation of the devil ; while
every act of Satan's was turned by a mysterious provi-
dence to the glory of God. Thus another writer suggests
" that the offering Him vinegar was a device of Satan's,
which he knew not that he was doing against himself.
For he was giving to the Saviour the bitterness of that
wrath by which he kept us for our disobedience to the
law ; but He received it and finished : that in return for
that vinegar which we gave to Him, He might give us to
drink of that wine which Wisdom hath mingled."

The image serves beautifully to express how our evil has
served to set forth His goodness : and our disobedience
has been the manifestation of His sinless obedience and
9 De Pass, et Cruc. Dom.

THE SPECTATORS 313

perfect righteousness ; by the fall we have lost the crown of
our own innocence, but obtained the crown of His right*
eousness, by faith being made one with Him : whereby the
Paradise of our disobedience has become to Him the garden
of Gethsemane ; bearing bitter fruits, where the " grapes
are grapes of gall f where " their wine is the poison of
dragons, and the cruel venom of asps 10 ; " but which has
become to us a better and celestial Paradise.

Nor did the soldiers continue silent spectators, where
we left them sitting to watch Him at the foot of the
Cross. For they also came up to join in these revilings.
"Even the soldiers also" says St. Luke, "derided Him,
coming to Him and offering Him vinegar ;" either in mock
compassion, or, as Theophylact says, " offering Him vinegar,
as if ministering to a king : " and alluding, as would ap-
pear from St. Luke, to the inscription written over His
head, and the charge made to the heathen that morning,
" saying, If Thou art the King of the Jews, save Tliyself"
(Luke). So was He even now, as before His trial, ac-
knowledged as Son of God by the Jew, and as " King of
the Jews " by the Gentile. " For being ignorant of the
Scriptures," says Bede, " the soldiers revile Him, not as
Christ, but as King of the Jews."

In the mean while our adorable Lord was hanging, in
silent suffering, on His excruciating bed of death and
pain ; and in order that the thoughts of His heart, and
the weight of His sorrows, might be known to His suffer-
ing children to the end of the world, and that they might
in their own evils find sympathy in His sorrows ; in the
same passages where His enemies are thus closely de-
scribed, He Himself pours forth also His passionate com-
plaints in His sufferings as man ; and expresses the secret
10 Deut. xxrii. 33.

314 THE CRUCIFIXION

communings of His own heart with God, and the acknow-
ledgment of His righteousness. " And Thou continuest
holy, 0 Thou worship of Israel ;" — " 0 go not far from
Me, for trouble is at hand, and there is none to help Me ;"
— " Be not Thou far from Me, 0 Lord ; Thou art My suc-
cour, haste Thee to help Me1." And again, " Hear Me,

0 God, in the multitude of Thy mercies : even in the
truth of Thy salvation. Take Me out of the mire, that I
sink not ; 0 let Me be delivered from them that hate Me,
and out of the deep waters." — " Thy rebuke hath broken
My heart ; I am full of heaviness : I looked for some to
have pity on Me, but there was no man, neither found I
any to comfort Me V " In the volume of the Book it is
written of Me, that I should fulfil Thy will, 0 My God ;

1 am content to do it ; yea, Thy law is within My heart 8."
And again, as if alluding to these many manifestations of
God's foreknowledge and control which were now being
fulfilled before His eyes, " 0 save Me according to Thy
mercy. And they shall know how that this is Thy hand ;
and that Thou, Lord, hast done it. Let them curse, but
bless Thou4 !" For in the book of Psalms we have, if I
may reverently say it, the very Prayer Book of our Divine
Lord Himself : which He inspired ; which He Himself
made use of, and has bequeathed as His own Book to His
Church.

THE PENITENT THIEF

OUR Lord's companions in suffering had been joining also
in these revilings against Him : and " the same " reproach
which the Chief Priests dwelt upon, of His saving others

» Ps. xxii. 3. 11. 19. 2 Ps. Ixix. 14, 15. 21.

» Ps. xl. 10. 4 Ps. cix. 25 — 27.

THE PENITENT THIEF 316

and His trusting in God, " the thieves also " (Matt), " they
who were crucified with Him, reviled Him with" (Matt.,
Mark). This is the account which two Evangelists afford
us ; and it might be supposed by some, that although they
speak in thu plural number, yet they only refer to one of
them ; the one whom St. Luke mentions as reviling, and
not to both. For as St. Ambrose and Augustin show on
this passage, the plural number is sometimes used when
one only is spoken of. And yet it seems better to suppose
that both accounts are strictly accurate, and that by the
plural number they here mean both. This seems the more
reverential, and therefore the truer mode of interpretation ;
and so St. Ambrose and many of the Fathers consider it.
For it is easy thus to understand it, that both of the
thieves did at first reproach our Lord on the Cross ; but
that one of them, during the long period of their common
sufferings, and perhaps of their common trial before their
judge during the morning, had heard and seen so much in
our Lord's words and demeanour, and at the same time
had his heart so softened by his own afflictions, that he
saw and recognized the Christ. For even Pilate, under
circumstances so very different, was greatly won over in a
space of time perhaps not longer. And we cannot doubt
but that our Lord, who, in His Divine care and knowledge,
was so watchful of the heart of each, was not unmindful
of this man throughout. St. Cyril speaks of the two
thieves as representing the Jew and the Gentile, of which
one at last repented : he and St. Chrysostom also think
that they both at first reviled. Nor is St. Augustin de-
cidedly opposed to this supposition. Origen says, "We
may suitably understand that at first both thieves blas-
phemed the Lord, but afterwards one of them was con-
verted and believed : considering by himself the miracles

316 THE CRUCIFIXION

he had heard of being done by Him, and perhaps seeing
the changes in the sky and the unusual darkness 6." And
St. Ambrose, in like manner, says, " Perhaps this man
also first reviled, but was suddenly converted ; nor is it to
be wondered at that He who forgave even those who were
insulting Him, should grant pardon unto one that confessed
his fault6." It is, in fact, but a similar discrepancy to
that respecting the position of some of the women, who
are mentioned by one Evangelist as near the Cross, and by
another at a distance off ; a discrepancy easily accounted
for by conceiving that the two narratives speak of a dif-
ferent time.

The incident itself, one of so compassionate a character,
and which could scarcely be the subject of human obser-
vation, is precisely such as St. Luke is used to select for
mention. "And one" he says, " of the malefactors, which
were hanged with Him, reviled Him, saying, If Thou art
the Christ, save Thyself and us" And this he did evi-
dently in words so loud, that the other, who was on the
other side of our Lord, could hear. But he now had been
probably deeply conscience-stricken, and meditating on his
past life, had come to himself in' the ineffable holiness of
our Saviour's presence, and in the influence of His powerful
grace. " The other answering, rebuked him, saying, Dost
not thoufear God, seeing thou art in the same condemna-
tion ? and we indeed justly : for we receive the just recom-
pense for the things we have done. But this man hath done
nothing amiss" From which words it is evident that he
had known something before of our blessed Lord, of the
circumstances of His condemnation, or something else,
that assured him of our Lord's innocence. And at the
same time that he addressed the other thief, or perhaps at
6 Comm. in Matt. 6 Expos, ad Lucam.

THE PENITENT THIEF 317

a later period, when wrapt in reflection upon himself, and
upon the scene that was going on, he turns to Christ ; —
" When in speaking to others," says St. Chrysostom, " he
finds that their hearing is stopped, he returns to Him who
knoweth the hearts ;" — "And he said unto Jesus, Remember
me, 0 Lord, when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, This day
shalt thou be with Me in paradise " (Luke).

By this wonderful conversion the malice of the devil
was turned beyond all things to the glory of Christ.
"For the devil had wished," says St. Chrysostom, "to
darken and overshadow what was taking place. But what
they did to throw reproach on Christ contributed to the
truth. His arts were frustrated, and not only did not
impair but added greatly to Christ's glory V For to con-
vert a thief on the Cross, and to take him to Paradise,
was no less a miracle than to rend the rocks in twain.
This instance mentioned by St. Chrysostom is but one,
out of very many, wherein the evil designed by the enemy
was turned into the glory of God by Christ. In order to
ridicule and degrade Christ, he suggests to them to place
Him between two thieves : it redounded to the highest
glory of His kingdom of mercy. He instigated them to
crucify Christ, rather than to put Him to any other death.
No other death would have so much reached to the fulness,
to the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of our
misery : by no other death would He have rendered it
impossible for His servants to exceed Him, in degradation,
and misery, and pain. The devil urged Pilate to the
scorn and ridicule of that title on the Cross : it is a name
written in Heaven ; it bears witness to His eternal king-
dom. He urged them to mock Him, but all they said
1 Advers. Jud. Or. v. 3

318 THE CRUCIFIXION

fulfilled prophecy. He instigated them to add to His
torments, but it only made His patience more perfect, His
atonement more deeply atoning. And it has passed into
an invariable law for His subjects and followers, that the
evil designed against them is by Christ made their great
good, if they adhere to Him. Thus was it ever of old ;
the sea that seemed to stop the flight of Israel, and to
deliver them up to their enemies, opened the way of their
salvation, and destroyed those enemies. The wilderness,
where there was no food, brought Heavenly bread ; where
all was dry desolation there was water from the Kock,
which is Christ.

The circumstance itself is in the highest degree remark-
able in two points of view. For in the first place, there is
no higher instance of our Lord's mercy on account of the
greatness of the gift conferred ; and secondly, there does
not appear any greater instance of faith on record. In the
depth of our Lord's extreme humiliation, when even the
disciples had fled, and doubted and denied, and the beloved
disciple alone of all the world was found faithful, the
penitent thief showed in this instance a combination of
humility, charity, faith, and fear of God, such as indicated
a thorough conversion of the heart; a state of mind, which
was marked by these qualities in the highest degree. At
a time when, to worldly eyes, the King and the Kingdom
appeared so utterly beyond acceptance and belief, as to be
a matter of scorn and ridicule, this penitent acknowledged
Him as his Lord and his King, as one having power to
save from death. Our Lord was set before him, not in
His miracles, not in His authoritative teaching, not as
pointed out by prophecies, not as proclaimed by the great
forerunner. But as He had said to Pilate, that he who
was of the truth would hear His voice, so is He known to

THE PENITENT THIEF 319

this penitent thief, and acknowledged ; acknowledged too
by a confession, almost beyond every other acknowledg-
ment during our Lord's life. The spiritual nature of His
Kingdom is acknowledged, His heavenly Kingship ; He is
not only acknowledged but defended, when all the world
is against Him, and no other is found to maintain His
cause. Here is humble confession of unworthiness, " we
receive the due reward of our deeds ;" and " he that con-
fesseth his sins shall find mercy." Here is reverential fear
of God expressed, and acknowledgment of His judgments,
" Dost not thou fear God, seeing that thou art in the same
condemnation ? and we indeed justly :" and " he that
humbleth himself should be exalted." Here is love to
man shown in concern for the other thief; love to God in
submission to His judgments, and in defending Christ;
and " charity shall cover the multitude of sins." Here is
faith of the highest kind attributing power to perform ;
and hope of the highest kind that looks to nothing less
than a heavenly Kingdom. As the first to enter into
Paradise with Christ, he is perhaps set forth as an example
of that temper which is required of all who would enter
there. For that man has most attained unto Evangelical
righteousness who is the most thoroughly penitent, the
most truly humbled ; and all Christian good works lead
to this humiliation. This righteousness has its foundation
in penitence, and has for its crown the penitential graces.
For he that hungers most, shall be most filled : he that is
most abased, shall be most exalted. Here again is the
fulfilment of those Evangelical requisites, to which the
promises are annexed ; — " Him that confesseth Me before
men, will I confess before the Angels of God." Here was
" the poor in spirit," the first to enter into the Kingdom ;
here was one that knocked, to whom the door was opened.

320 THE CRUCIFIXION

Here was set forth before the world the highest instance
of that mercy which characterizes the Gospel dispensation;
here was a man at the point of death, an outcast from
mankind, to whom, humanly speaking, all hope would
have appeared lost, both for this world and for the next ;
yet more highly accepted than any child of Adam, and
the first to enter Heaven. The veil was on the point of
being rent in twain, our Lord was entering into His
Kingdom, and this penitent thief being received with
Him. He is the only one of all Christians, of whom we
are sure from God's Word that he found an entrance there.
This was the strongest point of view in which it could be
set before all Christians, that they have a High Priest
who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
having been Himself in like condition of suffering. There-
fore to all distressed persons of all times it affords an
encouragement to approach Him; it was an evidence of
what would be the strength of Christians to the end of the
world : that suffering would be good for them, that their
own cross would open their hearts to acknowledge Christ
crucified ; that they who suffer together with Him, shall
reign with Him. Here did our Lord afford from the depth
of His own anguish, consolation to all dying persons, who
shall die in Him and in His faith. Here did He afford
them most blessed assurance, respecting that intermediate
state of the good, that whatever it is, it is to be with Him
in Paradise. In this occasion beyond all others " deep
calleth unto deep," the deep of our misery unto the deep
of God's mercy.

Thus ancient writers delight to dwell on the greatness
of this man's faith, and on the richness of Christ's mercy.
Gregory 8, speaking of this penitent, says, " On the cross
9 Moral, xviii.

THE PENITENT THIEF 321

the nails had fastened his hands and feet, and nothing in
him was free from punishment, but his heart and tongue,
which alone remained. By the inspiration of God he
offered up to Him whatever he had left free ; according as
it is written, ' with the heart men believe unto righteous-
ness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salva-
tion.' For of a sudden filled witli grace, the thief both
received and preserved on the cross, the three virtues
which the Apostle mentions. He had faith, for he believed
that He, whom he beheld dying in like manner with him-
self, would reign as God. He had hope, for he asked for
the coming of His kingdom ; and he had even in death a
living charity, for he reproved for his impiety his brother
and associate who was dying for a similar crime." And
St. Cyril of Jerusalem says with great beauty9, "What
power, 0 robber, enlightened thee? who taught thee to
worship that despised Man, thy companion on the cross ?
0 Eternal Light, which givest light to them that are in
darkness." . . . " Be of good cheer ; not that thy deeds
are such as should make thee be of good cheer : but that
the King is here dispensing favours." ..." 0 mighty and
ineffable grace ! The faithful Abraham had not yet en-
tered, but the robber enters ! Moses and the Prophets
had not yet entered, and the lawless robber enters." " I
am come, who feed My sheep among the lilies l : I have
found a sheep, a lost one ; but I lay it on my shoulders,
for he believeth and hath said, I have gone astray like a
sheep that is lost." But none more than St. Ambrose
would be moved by this touching subject; "Very beautiful,"
says he, " is this example of earnest endeavour after con-
version, that pardon is so quickly granted to the thief;
and the gracious boon is more abundant than the entreaty;
• Lect. »ii. 31. ' Cant. vi. 3.

Y

322 THE CRUCIFIXION

for the Lord ever gives more than is asked. For he prayed
that the Lord would be mindful of him when He came
into His kingdom, but the Lord says to him, ' Verily, I
say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.'
For to be with Christ is life j where Christ is, there is life,
there a Kingdom2." And St. Chrysostom of the same,
" The devil expelled Adam from Paradise, Christ took the
thief there before all the world, even before Apostles. By
his mere saying, and by faith alone, he entered into Para-
dise, that no one after his errors should despair of an
entrance there. Observe the rapidity with which he passes
from the Cross to heaven, from condemnation into Para-
dise, that thou mightest know that it was not according
to his desert, but the Lord's own clemency." " But how
could he obtain access into Paradise," asks St. Gregory
Nyssen, "since there was there a flaming sword that
turned every way?" "It thus turned every way," he
supposes, " that it might repel the unworthy, and afford
access to the worthy." But Gregory (the Great) observes,
that " it was a turning sword which was afterwards to be
removed thence, when He should come who, by the mys-
tery of His Incarnation, should open unto us the access
to Paradise." St. Cyril of Jerusalem also in the same
manner says, "Fear not, 0 robber, the fiery sword, it
shrinks from its Lord."

Our reflections on this wonderful instance of man's con-
version and God's mercy, may perhaps be well closed
with the remark of Quesnel : " One sinner is converted at
the hour of death, that we may hope ; and but one, that
we may fear i"

i Expos, in Luc. lib. x. 121.

THE REVEALING OF MEN*S HEARTS 323

TBE scene we are now contemplating on Mount Calvary
sets before us a great multitude, with such variety of sta-
tion and character, as might almost serve to represent the
diversities to be found among mankind. It is an awful
reflection, when we consider that all these persons, — who
were thus acting their different parts, as God had fore-
known and declared, each according to the temper and the
thoughts of his own heart, — were thus acting and showing
their true characters in the very eye of their Omnipotent
and Omniscient Judge, who hung as a malefactor before
them. Thus ever in His Providence does God hide Him-
self, leaving men to the imagination of their own hearts ;
while here and there some one, like the penitent thief, is
brought near to Him by affliction, and made conscious of
His presence. " Here one might see the Saviour," says
St. Chrysostom, "in the midst of the thieves; holding the
scale of justice, and weighing faith and infidelity." And
if in the case of the thieves, doubtless equally so in the
case of all. For He who was on the Cross was the Judge
of all men : and where He is, there is in some sense His
Judgment-seat.

Here was fully manifested that great principle, which
will try men through all generations, that of Christ cruci-
fied. The Cross was to be "for a sign that should be
spoken against — in order that the thoughts of many hearts
might be revealed." It may be perceived how thoroughly
it thus served as a means of proving what was in the
heart of man : and that not only in the case of the incon-
siderate multitude, but even in that of the disciples them-
selves. For the difference between St. Peter, St. John,
T 2

324 THE CRUCIFIXION

St. Thomas, and others was manifested and "brought out,
in word and action, by means of this our Lord's extreme
humiliation. The difference of character, and the degrees
of faith they had severally attained to, would have been,
humanly speaking, unseen and unknown, had it not been
for this test. For Christ having now no external evidence
of a power to support them or Himself ; and having in
Himself " no form nor comeliness," and to worldly eyes
"no beauty" for which men "should desire Him;" they
were left to stand alone, excepting so far as they were sup-
ported by faith in His Godhead. Nor can we conceive
any other method by which this object of their probation
would have been attainable. The Cross served as a touch-
stone to their whole disposition, their past life, their pre-
sent thoughts. And if with the disciples, still more
evidently might this be seen in the case of others, that
it was "set for the rise and fall of many," either as a
stumbling-block for their fall in that trial, or as the power
of God for their restoration. It served for a mirror
wherein the inner man of the soul became pourtrayed ;
set forth in the sight of God and His Angels, as in the Sea
of glass before the throne of God. With dreadful truth
were the Scribes and Pharisees shown therein. The vice
they were addicted to was hypocrisy, the whole of their
religion being directed to the eyes of men ; but the case of
the poor and despised Man, who apparently hung helpless
before them, brought out most thoroughly the state of
their secret hearts. This was shown in the undisguised
exultation which they evinced at the foot of the Cross,
and in the searching trial of their principles and affections
which they had undergone before Pilate. And although
very many circumstances, throughout the trial and con-
demnation, appear to have been merciful warnings on the

THE REVEALING OF MEN*S HEARTS 325

part of our Lord, intended to recall them, yet warnings
when neglected, become judgments. The multitude, more-
over, who had proclaimed Him with such triumphant
welcome, might have appeared to themselves and others
to have been high favourers and supporters of the Mes-
siah ; and, had He now appeared in circumstances of great
external pomp and power, might have claimed for them-
selves a reward : but of them, too, our Lord's humiliation
was the test. Much indeed, otherwise, might have been
alleged by some as an excuse for their unbelief; they
might have pleaded deference and submission to the opi-
nions of those set over them, as the Chief Priests and
Scribes were. This might have availed in excuse for
some things, but could not hold when it came to their pre-
ferring a murderer to an innocent man. That they should
have believed in Christ in His extreme humiliation, might
appear more than we could demand of them; but we
might reasonably expect from even natural religion com-
passion for a sufferer, and so much regard to justice as not
to have made an accusation, which they knew, or might
have known, to be false. And had they had but these
principles of natural piety, they might have been led on
thereby to something higher and better. Thus it might
be shown that the Crucifixion had the effect of revealing
the thoughts of men's hearts, in every way, degree, and
kind. Thus were they, while they knew it not, wantonly
showing themselves in the Eye of their Judge. It was the
searching trial of the hearts of men which God, in His
inscrutable wisdom, was making : but as it was the proba-
tion, the revelation, and manifestation of man's wicked-
ness, so was there also in the same event combined the
revelation of God's goodness ; His mercy contending with
man's impenitence and cruelty. If it is in some sense like

THE CRUCIFIXION

the throne of Christ's judgment, yet that throne is en-
circled by the rainbow, by His everlasting Covenant of
mercy.

But it may be supposed that the Cross does not now
answer the same purpose, which it then did, inasmuch as
we all acknowledge and worship Him, whose Divine
Majesty was then hidden from men's eyes. Yet the hearts
and dispositions of men are still the same ; and the
doctrine of Christ crucified is still the same, in the various
ways in which it is presented to the mind, and manifested
under different circumstances. True penitence is still put
to the proof by the Cross of Christ ; true love is evinced
by a conformity to Christ crucified ; nay, He Himself is
presented to the eye of faith under the same condition of
humiliation ; for every shape of affliction " bears about in
the body the marks of the Lord Jesus :" and is identified
with Him, doubtless in some very high and concerning
sense, as intimated by those words, " Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto the least of these My brethren, ye have done
it unto Me." That mysterious indwelling of Christ in His
Church so strongly promised, calls forth in a similar man-
ner our acknowledgment of a Divine Presence, of which
doubtless it may be said, " Blessed are they who have not
seen, and yet have believed." In order to try their faith,
the Godhead was then concealed under the garb of suffer-
ing Manhood; so is it now under the poor and mean
elements of Bread and Wine. The Cross is at this day,
as it then was, the test of man, as well as the power of
God.

Thus it is that ever since our blessed Lord was born
into the world, the remarkable prediction of the Prophet
Malachi3 has been fulfilled, wherein our Lord spoke of
• Mai. iii. 1—5.

OUR LORD'S MOTHER 327

His coming to His Church. And although that prophecy
seems ultimately to refer to the Day of His final appearing,
yet in earnest of that awful manifestation, it may have
many previous fulfilments in all the revelations of Christ
crucified. " The Lord whom ye seek," hath, as He fore-
told, " suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger
of the Covenant, whom ye delight in." Eut so very few
at His coming were able to endure that searching test of
true faith, that it is asked, as if in mournful surprise at
the smallness of that number, " But who may abide
the day of His coming] and who shall stand when
He appeareth ? " This manifestation of Christ was on
that day, and is on this day, so much "the dis-
cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart 4," that no
human words can equal the Divine description, " for He
is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap." And, as if
alluding to the long continuance of this trial, it is added,
" and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This
intimate approach also of Christ, whereby He, the Judge
of mankind, was standing as the very witness in the midst
of them, enters into this awful description : " And I will
come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift
witness."

OVR LORD'S MOTHER

THAT nothing might be wanting to set before us the entire
description of this momentous and awful scene, the last
Evangelist introduces into the picture a touching mention
of those, who were nearest to our Lord in devout affection,
or bound to Him by the nearest of earthly ties ; in order
« Heb. iv. 12.

328 TffE CRUCIFIXION

to record another memorable instance of our Lord's last
conduct and instruction : — "There stood by the Cross of
Jesus His mother, and the sister of His mother, Mary, the
wife of Cleopas" the mother of James and Joses 6, " and
Mary Magdalene" All men had failed in this trial ex-
cepting one disciple, and yet three women are there at the
foot of the Cross : women surpass men in courage ; and
this is the lesson which the Cross teaches us, that God's
strength is perfected in human weakness. It may be, that
they come here in attendance on, and from connexion with,
our Lord's mother ; and this may be partly the cause of
their patient fortitude on this occasion ; because they are
together with the mother of the adorable Son of God;
because both in suffering and in sex they are connected
with her. For Christ had but one earthly Parent, and
that was a woman. As she was " blessed among women,"
because she was admitted to such near approach to the
Son of the Most High; so also blessed are women, because
she was among them of whom the Son of God 6 was born.
Mankind in general are blessed, because Christ, as born of
a woman, was the Son of Man. And women may have
some special blessing, inasmuch as He was bom of a
woman. Human life is blessed, because He lived in the
flesh ; and death is blessed, because He died : so every
condition of life, which approached Him, receives thereby
and communicates virtue from Him. The mystery of His
Incarnation and Passion pervades all things, and all things
partake of radiance and of strength on earth in proportion
to their nearness, by any chain of circumstances, to that
mystery. Children are blessed, because He was a child ;
men derive strength, because of His manhood; and He
draws women to Him in being born of a woman. What
* See page 372. • See page 107.

OUR LORD'S MOTHER 329

wonder, therefore, if they are stronger than man ; and if
of that little group, around His Cross, the greater part are
women 1 And although now in the depth of His agony,
our Lord does not vouchsafe to them any marks of His
favour or privilege, — and indeed says nothing to the other
women, but only speaks to His mother; — yet to Mary
Magdalene He first manifests Himself when risen from the
grave ; and the same day to Cleopas, who was probably
the husband of this other Mary ; and, as it would seem,
to this Mary herself, among the other women mentioned
in St. Matthew7. "Who then are these, and what are
those qualities, which are nearest to the Cross, which is
Christ's earthly throne, and the sceptre by which He reigns
in the hearts of those He loves ? In St. John we have
calm courage, virgin purity, Divine love; in Mary Magda-
lene, devout watchfulness and earnest penitence ; in the
other Mary, faithful patience and quiet constancy. But
as to the blessed Virgin herself, she is hid, as if designedly,
by a cloud from our view, and of her character we can
divine but little.

With this company, therefore, may we now approach
the Cross, and hear our Lord's last injunctions. Two
of our Lord's sayings on the Cross were addressed to
mankind ; one of these was the acceptance of a penitent ;
the other was an injunction of filial piety. The two
lessons, therefore, which our Lord may be supposed to
bequeath to us, as His last instructions, are penitence and
filial duty. On these two all Evangelical graces may
be considered to be founded. There is also something
appropriate in the two Evangelists who convey to us
these our Lord's lost messages. If St. Luke, with a
peculiar propriety, gives us the account of the penitent
1 Matt, xxviii. 9. See Resurrection, p. 111.

330 THE CRUCIFIXION

thieij with no less suitableness does St. John afford us
that of our Lord's mother. His words are, "Jesus there-
fore, when He saw His mother, and the disciple standing
by whom He loved, saith unto His mother, Woman, behold
thy son /" implying thereby, that John would be a son
to her. " Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy
mother. And from that time that disciple took her to his
own;" — to his own home, we should be disposed to add ;
but St. Austin beautifully observes, "not to his own
property, to share that with him, for of this he had
none to bestow, but to his own kind offices of filial affec-
tion8."

Here have we in our blessed Lord the great example
of filial love : and here have we also combined with it the
highest sanction of human friendship ; for we read in this
His last dying hour ; — " When He saw the disciple whom
He loved !" "With how great an honour," exclaims St.
Chrysostom, " did He honour this disciple ! But he
concealed himself in lowliness of wisdom; for if he
had wished to do so, he might have added the cause
for which he was loved. For it is reasonable to suppose,
that there was some cause, great and wonderful. But
the reason why He says nothing else to John, nor consoles
him in his sorrow, is, because it was not a time for the
consolation of words. However, no slight matter was it
to be honoured with so great an honour." Very few,
indeed, were our blessed Lord's words, but they were
replete with the highest consolation and mysterious great-
ness. What higher earthly crown could affection bestow
on the beloved disciple? And doubtless the Virgin
mother, in being received by St. John, had vouchsafed
to her the figure and sacrament of some vast and con-
8 In Joann. ad locum.

OUR LOAD'S MOTHER 331

soling mystery. Infinitely great and divine was that
new union of most hallowed adoption; so great and
divine, that Scripture and Tradition pass over all mention
of it in sacred silence. What a home was that where he
was who was so fully impressed with the Godhead of his
Lord ; where she was who had been chosen before all
the daughters of Adam, to be His earthly Mother!
Imagination and thought are overwhelmed when we
look into that home, where Christ's beloved disciple and
Christ's mother were. Surely that place must have been
the resort of holy Angels, if any habitation on earth has
been meet to be so.

There seems something in the suggestion of St. Cyril *,
that — " Our Lord, seeing the great trial that it was to
His mother, and the great offence which the Cross of
His Passion might be to her, and, as God, knowing the
deep thoughts with which she was troubled, committed
her to the beloved disciple, as being so furnished with
Divine wisdom, that he could best explain to her the
depth of that mystery." And indeed the more one
contemplates the circumstances, the more do we become
impressed with something of a Divine suitableness in
all the parts of it, until we are lost in the mysterious
harmony and wisdom of God's Providences. For where
shall we find a home more suitable for the Mother of
the adorable Son of God, than that of Divine love and
wisdom? Where a home more worthy of the greatness,
more suitable to the weakness of the blessed Virgin,
when the sword pierced her soul? And for the fidelity
of the beloved disciple himself, what reward could have
more answered, and harmonized more with his affections \
Or what earthly gift have been more valued by his piety ?
9 la Joann. ad locum.

332 THE CRUCIFIXION

In this disciple himself there was especially fulfilled, in this
instance, the promise of our Lord ; that they who sacrificed
domestic comforts and possessions for His sake, should
not only receive an infinite reward hereafter, hut should
receive also in this present time from Him, the very same
things which they relinquished, in ample recompense10.
For St. John, in following Christ, seems especially to
have relinquished the comforts of a home. It is not only
said that he relinquished all that he had, as it is said of
St. Matthew and others, hut it is expressly mentioned,
that he "left his father with the hired servants." In
another sense, also, he was, for Christ's sake, without the
closer honds of a domestic life, in that he was never
married. In him, therefore, doubtless was especially
fulfilled that promise, that such shall receive "in this
present time houses, and hrethren, and sisters, and mothers,
and children." For though no doubt this promise has a
high and spiritual fulfilment upon earth, in that " whoso-
ever shall do the will of God," the same does become to
Christ Himself, in some mysterious and transcendental
manner, His "brother," and His "sister," and His
"mother11;" yet such promises do receive also, in things
that are more of earth, an inferior indeed, and less plenary,
but still a true and great fulfilment. And so, on that
occasion, when the beloved disciple received into his
home our Lord's mother, it seems to have been an earthly
pledge of their higher heavenly fulfilment also; for
already in this did he surely receive " a hundredfold
in this present time." For he had given up a home and
relatives in order to adhere to Christ, and to stand by
His Cross ; but, for a home and for relatives, like those
of other men, which he resigned, he received for a home
!» Mark x. 30. « Mark iii. 35.

OUR LORD'S MOTHER 333

that most hallowed of all earthly homes ; and for a parent,
one no less than his Lord's mother.

But with regard to the blessed Virgin herself, it is
remarkable how Holy Scripture seems to have thrown
around her a sort of holy silence; and that, too, on
occasions such as the present, at the Crucifixion, and also
at the Eesurrection, when we look with an intense interest
for any thing that we can learn respecting her. There
appears, also, to be a sort of mysterious reserve in what
is recorded of our Lord's expressions towards her or
respecting her. It was, we may venture to suppose, out
of tender consideration for our weakness, and from His
foreseeing that great heresy, which should arise in the
Church, under the plea of doing her honour. And this
will account for the circumstance, that on the few occa-
sions, in which our Lord is mentioned as addressing His
Mother, there is something different from what we should
have been, perhaps, inclined to expect. For, although
we know that He "was subject" to His human "parents,"
and that, doubtless, after some transcendent and most
perfect manner of filial duty and love ; yet the things
recorded appear rather as merciful warnings, addressed to
ourselves, than as disclosing through the veil His own
human and filial affections. Thus, in the first miracle
at Cana of Galilee, in speaking of His miracles, He
seems to separate her interference from any control
in the exercise of His Divine power : and in no less
marked a manner had He done the same at twelve years
of age, when engaged in His " Father's business ;" and
again in that emphatic declaration, made to the person
who spoke of the exceeding blessedness of His human
Mother, " Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word
of God, and keep it." It may be that in this way our

334 THE CRUCIFIXION

Lord was fulfilling the perfection of that Evangelical
righteousness, wherein he that loves God must love with
so entire a heart as to hate father and mother (i. e. com-
paratively). However, on this occasion, when our Lord
is manifested to us as speaking to His earthly Parent,
His words are extremely few and short. Nor does He
speak for her consolation in those high and Divine terms
in which He had spoken to His disciples, when He was
consoling them for His loss; — that He would send the
Almighty Comforter to be with them ; that He Himself
would he with them ; that He, and His Father, and the
Holy Spirit, would make their abode with them : — but
He commits her to the charge of another, as one needing
human support and human comfort. It was, indeed, the
very highest office of filial duty and affection, when He
committed her to His beloved disciple, and at such an
hour of extreme agony was mindful of her; — but still
it was human. He committed her as one human and
infirm; the hallowed scene suggests the thoughts, if
one may reverently venture to say so, not so much of
transcendental and Heavenly, as of domestic love ; of
piety indeed infinitely perfect and adorable, but in actions
rather filial and parental than Divine. Indeed, in the
beloved disciple himself, the view which we obtain of
his character in conjunction with the Virgin-mother, is
rather the domestic side, than that which is represented
by his emblem the Eagle, by his deep and Divine Gospel,
or the mysterious Apocalypse, in which he is usually pre-
sented to us ; or as reclining on the bosom of the Incarnate
Word, the Ever-blessed God in the flesh. Our Lord
acknowledges her not in His miracles, which were Divine ;
but in His agony, when she needed sympathy. Now was
the time when " the sword was to pierce through her own

OUR LORD'S MOTHER 335

soul j" when all that was human in our Lord, of which
she was the parent, was racked with anguish; and she
who was so "highly favoured" above women, had the
sign of God's favour vouchsafed to her in the greatness of
her afflictions, when "the iron entered into her soul."

Of the state of the blessed St. Mary's own feelings, in
these seasons of trial, nothing is told us ; it is concealed
from our view, in that cloud or veil which envelopes all
the character of her who was " blessed among women,"
and is known to Christ alone. But the little which is
said of her in her previous history seems calculated to
teach us, that she also, like ourselves, had to learn the
lesson of faith in Christ, in the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height of God manifest in the Body. We
are more than once told that she kept His sayings, and
pondered them in her heart, and that too from His very
childhood. And we may well suppose, that He who knew
what was in the heart of man, and who "meets them
that are worthy in every thought," being well aware of
this, had trained and prepared her by His teaching and by
His providence for this her trying hour, which He fore-
knew. There is an incident mentioned in His early years,
and the only one which is mentioned, which appears to
be singled out from all the events of His youth and
childhood, as containing within it something especially
mysterious ; and the more so, when we observe that the
transactions themselves are not, humanly speaking, im-
portant, on account of any results they lead to, or great
principles which they convey. But the particulars of
that circumstance, when considered as bearing towards the
blessed Virgin, will be found to contain something ex-
tremely analogous to her present trial and position ; and
id though the matters are in themselves very different, yet

336 THE CRUCIFIXION

as exercising the faith of our Lord's Mother, the one
appears to "be a sort of type of the other. We may, I
trust, venture with humility to suppose, that our Lord
did thereby intend to afford her a kind of representation
of this her present trial ; and thereby to strengthen her
towards the attainment of that faith in Him, which would
diminish the severity of it. The incident referred to is
the following, that when our Lord was twelve years of
age, and went up with His parents to Jerusalem at the
Passover, He had disappeared in the Holy City from the
presence of the blessed Virgin, and had left her, for the
space of three days, sorrowing for His absence and loss.
And afterwards, when at length He was discovered by
her, engaged in teaching in the Temple, He expressed, as
it were, His surprise, that in this short and seeming be-
reavement wherewith she had been so much afflicted, she
had not considered that it was necessary for Him to be
about His Father's business, or, as it might signify, in
His Father's house. Now, on reading this narrative, our
first feeling is naturally something of surprise, that our
Lord should have occasioned His mother that pain and
anxiety, when we read her gentle expostulation, — "Son,
why hast Thou dealt thus with us? Behold, Thy father
and I have sought Thee sorrowing." The circumstance
itself creates an apprehension that there is more in the
matter than appears ; especially as it is the only circum-
stance which the Evangelists have recorded of our Lord
from His infancy to His manhood. Now the whole
transaction seems calculated to train her to a trust and
reliance in Him, when He should be out of her sight : and
when for " three days " she should be in vain seeking for
"FTim " sorrowing." And the state of circumstances, in
her present destitution at His death, is in a striking

OUR LORD'S MOTHER 337

manner analogous : for at the expiration of that time she
will find Him indeed, though not in the condition of the
Human Son, yet doing His Father's will, about His
Father's business, sitting in His Spiritual Temple, and
teaching His Church, with all power given Him in His
Kingdom. If this incident, and the instruction con-
veyed by means of it, had not the effect of schooling her
beforehand for her great trial, yet His Divine teaching on
that occasion must have appeared to her such in the
retrospect after His resurrection. For such are often the
ways of God, seen after the events have passed, but not
discovered at the time : as God said to Moses, — that he
should see Him from behind when He had passed by, but
should not see His Face.

Perhaps indeed it may be thus, in His moral provi-
dences and dispensations towards us, that Christ deals
with us all ; I mean, that often by means of matters
which are painful, and which we cannot account for at the
time, He may be training us for some greater trial to
ensue. It may be, too, that when our probation shall
have terminated hereafter, and we are able to look back
upon, and to unravel the mysterious Providences which
have enveloped us in the past, we may find throughout
this gracious Hand of Christ's paternal instruction and
care, teaching wisdom and faith through sorrow, while we
knew not of it. There is a circumstance mentioned of
St. Peter in his previous history that seems, precisely in a
similar manner, analogous to the events of his great
temptation, and whereby he appears to have been before-
hand mercifully trained and prepared for it. For on the
occasion when he walked upon the sea, there appears at
first the same forwardness of zeal, and the same loving
confidence iu venturing before the other disciples upon the

338 THE CRUCIFIXION

wave, as afterwards led him into the hall of judgment.
The same earnestness of faith and love led hi™ on both
occasions to go forth to be with his Lord, to be doing as
his Lord, and to be in common danger with Him. Bnt
after he had ventured so far, there then ensued the same
want of strength to support himself; and on both occa-
sions he began to sink : on both occasions he might say,
with equal propriety, " I am come into deep waters, so
that the floods run over me ... 0 let me be delivered
from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let
not the water-flood drown me, neither let the deep swallow
me up ... Turn Thee unto me, and hide not Thy face
from Thy servant1." In both temptations, if left to
himself, he would have perished; in both it was his
faith failed ; in both he was recovered and sustained by
our Lord Himself ; at one time by His hand, and at the
other by Hia look : and on the last occasion our Lord
seemed to say to him, as He had said on the former, " O
thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt 8 ? " The
former seems a preparation and discipline for the latter.
Now these two instances which have been mentioned, as
occurring to two persons in our Lord's dealings with them
in the Gospels, may be parts of a great system of God's
moral Providence, in His dealings with us all ; training
us, and schooling us, and disciplining us in affairs of daily
life, we know not why nor wherefore, but saying to us,
" What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know
hereafter."

But there is another circumstance, wherein our Lord's

conduct to His Holy Mother is recorded, which St. Austin

intimately connects with this occasion, that of the

Marriage feast in Cana of Galilee. He supposes that, when

1 Ps. Ixix. 2. 16—18. 2 Matt. xiv. 31.

OUR LORD'S MOTHER 339

our Lord said, " What have I to do with thee ? Mine
hour is not yet come," He spake of this hour ; that
our Lord then meant, that when He had to make the
manifestation of His Divinity, and to be as it were about
His Father's business, He was not to be subject to
maternal commands or wishes : but when, hereafter, in His
dying agonies, He should have to suifer as man, He would
then recognize His human mother in His human sorrows ;
and that then, when His hour should have come, she
should receive the highest pledge of dutiful affection
which a human Son could render : that in the midst of
His deepest agonies He would remember her, and take
care of her ; though in things Divine He might seem to
set her aside. It is thus, with some meaning of this kind,
as having a reference to the present occasion of His death,
that St. Augustin would explain our Lord's words to His
mother, in that conversation in the Marriage feast in
Cana of Galilee. This appears in some degree to sanction,
and fall in with, our application of His words on the still
earlier occasion mentioned by St. Luke. And both would
seem to indicate, that each of our Lord's previous dis-
courses with His mother had a reference to this the
consummation of all, — this last and dying instance of
filial duty. In both of those instances did He afford us
an example of that most perfect goodness which He had
set before us, viz. that we are to hate every earthly con-
nexion, and hold light the most sacred of all earthly
duties, in comparison with the love of God. While on
this last occasion on the Cross He has afforded us His own
example, that although we are to hate father and mother
in comparison with God, yet that, notwithstanding, in
doing so, we may give our earthly parents the strongest
proofs of affection and duty. St. Chrysostom seems to
z 2

540 THE CRUCIFIXION

adopt the same allusion and reference : " Though other
women," he says, " were standing by, yet He mentions
none but His mother, teaching us of the greater debt
which is due to mothers. As when our parents stand in
our way concerning spiritual matters, we ought not to
know them ; so when nothing of this kind prevents us,
we are to afford all things to them, and to prefer them to
every other." St. Augustin also observes, that here from
His Cross, as from the chair of the teacher, the Lord
would instruct us in the great lesson of filial piety. And
St. Ambrose speaks with touching beauty of this affecting
incident of our Lord's care, and of the circumstance, that
it should be His own beloved disciple who records it3.
" Mary, the mother of the Lord, stood at the Cross of
her Son. No one hath taught me this but St. John the
Evangelist. Others have written of the world being
shaken in the passion of the Lord, and the Heavens
enveloped in darkness ; that the sun withdrew ; that the
thief after his confession was received into Paradise.
John hath taught us that which the others have taught
us not : how, when laid upon the Cross, He addressed
His mother. He thought it of more moment that,
triumphing over His agonies, He exhibited these duties to
His mother, than that He bestowed a heavenly kingdom
of eternal life. For if it was an act of piety that life
was given to the thief, of much more abounding piety
was it, that a mother was honoured by a Son with so
great an affection." And St. Cyril of Alexandria dwells
on the same most sacred instance of filial piety. He
observes, that " honour to parents is of a truth the most
precious kind of virtue. But not to neglect our duty
towards them, although surrounded by intolerable woes,
* In Epistola ad Eccles, Vercell. vol. ii. p. 1140, Ed. Bened.

THE DARKNESS 341

from whence could we learn this, but in and by Christ,
the first of all ? For that man is indeed the best who is
mindful of the holy commandments, and is not forced
from a becoming adherence to them, not in peace and
tranquillity, but in the storm and flood of overwhelming
calamity."

THE DARKNESS

"It was" now " alout the sixth hour " (Luke), "and from
the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until
the ninth hour " (Matt., Mark, Lake). That is according
to the Roman and Jewish time, but as we should call it
from twelve o'clock till three. The effect is thus men-
tioned, and St. Luke adds the sensible cause of the dark-
ness by saying, "And the sun was darkened " (Luke). It
is supposed by Origen 4 that this afternoon was the very
period of the creation of man, the animals being created on
the forenoon of the Sixth day ; but there is another more
palpable cause, which might be assigned for its occurring
at this particular hour, which is so strongly designated.
Our Lord Himself was, it is said, turned toward the west,
with His back toward Jerusalem ; which has been sup-
posed by some the reason for the primitive custom of
praying toward the east, on account of our Lord's Cross
being turned from thence. At twelve o'clock, therefore,
the sun came more in view of its Lord and Maker, and, as
it were, hid his face in shame and grief at the dreadful
spectacle. It was probably this which the Prophet Amos
spoke of when he said, " In that day, saith the Lord God,
I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken
« In Mutt, ad loo.

342 THE CRUCIFIXION

the earth in the clear day6." The Prophet Zechariah, as
Gregory Nyssen has observed, may allude to the same,
when he said, " It shall be one day which shall be known
to the Lord, not day, nor night : but it shall come to
pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall
be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jeru-
salem6." Other passages in the prophets have been sup-
posed to allude to it, as in Jeremiah, " her sun is gone
down while it was yet day : she hath been ashamed and
confounded V And in Ezekiel, " I will cover the sun
with a cloud : — all the bright lights of Heaven will I
make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land,
saith the Lord God8." Perhaps these prophecies, and
this event itself, both shadow forth and prefigure some-
thing else, to be accomplished hereafter.

It is matter of question how far this darkness extended.
St. Chrysostom and Theophylact consider it to have been
over the world; and so far distinguished from the
Egyptian darkness. Origen supposes it to have been only
over the land of Judea, and caused by the gathering of
dark clouds. The former opinion is not, indeed, supported
by any genuine and authentic evidence of the fact having
been observed in other countries ; neither, indeed, is there
any account of it in the land of Judea, or of its having
taken place at Jerusalem, beyond these statements of the
inspired Evangelists. Nor surely is any needed.

Origen, who considers that it extended only over the
land of Judea, adds, that as, when Moses stretched forth
his hands to heaven, darkness came over the Egyptians,
who were holding in slavery the servants of God, which
was an image of the future darkness which was to over-

5 Amos viii. 9. • Zech. xiv. 7, 8. T Jer. xv. 9.

8 Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8.

THE DARKNESS 343

whelm the Egyptians : so, in like manner, when Christ,
from the sixth hour, stretched forth His hands to Heaven,
on the Cross, over the people who had cried, " Away with
Him, crucify Him, crucify Him," darkness came over them,
and they were deprived of all light; an image of that
future darkness which was to overwhelm the Jewish nation,
who had dared to lay hands on Him " Who was the true
Light." " And as the children of Israel had then light in
all their dwellings when Egypt was in darkness, so,"
Origen adds, " shall there be light in the Church of God,
while the Jews are in darkness. And as it is said, that
there was darkness over the land of Judea till the ninth
hour, it is evident that the light then returned, for when
the fulness of the Gentiles shall have come in, all Israel
shall be saved ; the darkness over the land of Judea for
three hours, signifying that, on account of their sins, they
are deprived of the light of God the Father, and the bright-
ness of Christ, and the illumination of the Holy Spirit'.'
This interpretation the more recommends itself, as night
and day are evidently symbolical of spiritual light and
darkness coexisting in the world : and the blindness of the
Jews since that day, in the midst of surrounding light, is
as marvellous as a supernatural darkness would be in mid-
day. This opinion of Origen's agrees with what St.
Chrysostom also says, " that it was a manifest judgment,
in token of that darkness which should overwhelm the
minds of those that were crucifying Him." The agree-
ment of these two writers is remarkable, as there exists so
great a diversity in their minds, and in the characters of
their writings.

The space and duration of time is also to be noticed ;
it may have been the period of our Lord's extreme agony.
9 Comm. in Matt. 134.

344 THE CRUCIFIXION

St. Jerome expresses himself to this effect, " that the most
bright luminary of the world withdrew his rays that he
might not behold Him who was hanging on the Cross,
and the wicked blasphemers should not enjoy his light10."
But it is evident that the " three hours " have some ana-
logous reference to the " three days," when our Lord was
hid in the earth, according to the sign of the Prophet
Jonah. And if the space of time was for three hours,
because our Lord was for three days in the darkness of the
grave ; then the number Three on these occasions seems to
be "but one among numberless instances of the same kind :
and all this runs up into a still higher subject. For if this
space of darkness was for three hours, because our Lord
was for three days in the grave, then the question occurs,
why three days was the appointed time for His sojourn in
the heart of the earth ? Why does the mysterious number
three run into all cases, of every kind, with some significant
and hidden power, in Scripture and in Nature, in all lan-
guages, and among all people, both sacred and profane " 1
The reason for all this is, no doubt, the same very deep
and awful reason to which St. Augustin attributes the
appointed time of the Lord's continuance in the grave.
" On that account," he says, " He arose after three days ;
that in the Passion of the Son might be shown the assent
of the whole of the Trinity. For the three days is read
of in figure, because the Trinity which made man in the
beginning, doth itself in the end repair man, through the
Passion of Christ."

The period of the day also is probably full of great and

*° In Matt, ad loc.

11 As "ter" and "tres" nsed to denote confirmation in poeia
constantly : and the mysterious proverbial expression, " nuuiero
Deus impare gaudet." — Virgil.

THE DARKNESS 345

mysterious analogies. It may bear some correspondence
not only with the creation of man, as was before men-
tioned, but also with his fall : for as it is said that Adam
heard " the voice of God walking in the garden in the cool
of the day," it has been thought that the crime he com-
mitted was in the heat of the day. So it may be, as Bede
suggests, that the time of his crime corresponds with the
period of our Lord's suffering. The same writer also
notices, that when the sun was declining from its centre,
our Lord died : when it was rising, He rose from the
grave. A sentiment expressed by Bede is so far of weight,
as he is a channel that conveys to us rather the stream of
other people's opinions in earlier times, than thoughts of
his own.

There is also another circumstance in the Old Testa-
ment, which we cannot help thinking of in connexion with
this darkness ; although it would be difficult to explain
all the mysterious allusions contained in it, yet the mere
mention of some will at once indicate a striking resem-
blance and analogy. It is when the exceeding great pro-
mise, of his seed being as the stars of Heaven, is made to
Abraham ; and he desires a sign whereby he may know
that he shall inherit the land : when the prophecy is made
that his seed shall be in a strange land and in captivity : —
when the sun was going down : and also in the midst of a
sacrifice. " And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep
fell upon Abrani ; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell
upon him." Again, " And it came to pass, that, when
the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking
furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those
pieces V

St. Chrysostom, according to his custom, dwells rathei
1 Gen. xv. 12. 17.

346 THE CRUCIFIXION

on the practical effects of the miracle, than on its secret
causes or mysterious significations. " It was much more
wonderful," he says, " that this should occur when He was
crucified, than it would have been while He walked on
earth. For it was sufficient to convert them, not only
from the greatness of the miracle, but because it took
place after they had spoken all they wished, and were
satiated with their revilings. But how was it they were
not all struck with astonishment, and believed in Him as
God ? Because mankind were then held by such wicked-
less and sloth, and the miracle soon passed away, and they
noticed not the causes for which it took place8." Indeed,
in this respect it is but the counterpart of the effect of
many other miracles, taking place then in the presence
of the Jews, of the Egyptians before, and of Christians
now; in each case men are encompassed by a cloud of
witnesses, yet believe not.

But with regard to the nature of the sign itself, no
explanation of it is to be rejected merely on the ground
of its littleness, or its vastness, when we speak of the
Almighty ; for as no instrument can be too small for Him
to use in speaking to mankind, neither can any be too
great ; for small and great are all one to Him who is
Infinite. On the one hand, the movement of a cloud over
a small country were sufficient to speak to mankind ; but
on the other hand, it were not to be wondered at, if not
our world only, but other suns and systems throughout the
infinite universe, were shaken to the centre and darkened,
in sympathy with their Maker's sufferings.

* Horn, xxxix.

THE LOUD VOICE 347

THE LOUD VOICE

IT might be presumptuous in us to attempt to draw near,
and to venture to look into, as if we had power or thought
to fathom the inscrutable depth of our Saviour's woes :
which, considering that they were caused by us and were
for our sakes, we ought rather with the lowest adoration
and prostration of soul and body to hear of, hiding our
eyes and faces in shame. Yet the words that He uttered
disclose to us at this time something of the nature and
cause of His mysterious agonies. " And about the ninth
hour " (Matt.), or " at the ninth hour " (Mark), i. e. about
three o'clock of our time, " Jesus cried out with a loud
voice, saying " (Matt., Mark), " Eli, Eli " (Matt.), or "Eloi,
Eloi " (Mark), " lama sabachthani ? which is " (Matt.,
Mark), " being interpreted" (Mark), "My God, My God,
why hast Thou forsaken Me ? " (Matt., Mark.) It is evi-
dent that our Lord here speaks in the person of mankind,
addressing God not even, as at other times, as His Father,
but as His God. The whole circumstance is matter for
silent contemplation, rather than that we should venture to
say much : but it is a subject of inexpressible support and
consolation, under the weight of the heaviest calamities we
can endure ; inasmuch as they are not only in themselves
exceeding light in comparison ; but we have this strong
living evidence, that depression of mind and spiritual
desertion are no proofs of the rejection of God ; but rather,
like bodily sufferings, form part of that resemblance to His
Son, which renders us on that account the more acceptable
to our Heavenly Father.

We know not indeed what these agonies of Christ's were,

348 THE CRUCIFIXION

nor whether this was the hitter " cup " of which He had
spoken on the preceding night ; hut we know that the
sufferings of lost mankind consist in their "being forsaken
of God, nor need we entertain any fear in this life, but
that of being forsaken of Him. But it has been before
noticed that the expressions of grief which our Lord used,
had more than once a reference to the Jewish nation ; and
it is curious to observe, that Origen on this subject has an
opinion, that this exclamation of our Lord in agony had
some such reference. " After He perceived," says Origen,
" the darkness over all the land of Judea till the ninth
hour, He said with a loud voice, ' why hast Thou forsaken
Me ? ' meaning thereby given Me up, thus emptied and
desolated by such woes ; so that the people which had been
honoured by Thee, should receive the penalty for what it
has done against Me ; filling up the measure of their
fathers ; — that they should be deprived of the light of Thy
countenance, and should be left in darkness, as having
Thee their God no longer present with them." And yet
the same writer afterwards adds, " perhaps on beholding
the sins of mankind for which He suffered, He said, \ Why
hast Thou forsaken Me ? ' that ' I am as when they have
gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the
vintage ; there is no cluster to eat.' And this because
' the good man is perished out of the earth, and there is
none upright among men V But you must not suppose
that our Saviour thus spake in a human manner on account
of the woe that had come upon Him on the Cross. For if
you so take it, you will not hear the ' loud voice ' by which
He spake, nor seek what is worthy of a Divine voice.
And from the sixth to the ninth hour, the darkness was
over the whole land, but before the expiration of the ninth,
* Micah vii. 1, 2.

THE LOUD VOICE 349

the Lord cried with a loud voice, saying what is written,
as if requiring that the sun should again arise on the land,
and scatter from it the darkness of the three hours, as we
have explained it above4." Thus Origen by these two
passages appears to refer our Lord's mysterious woe, first of
all to the rejection of the Jewish nation ; and afterwards
to that of the impenitent world, out of which so few would
be saved by His death ; and of which the destruction of
Jerusalem was the type. This is a confirmation of what
has been noticed of our Lord's words to the women that
followed Him. Theophylact also refers it to the Jewish
nation \ he observes, that " the Lord must speak this in the
person of us men, for He cannot be Himself forsaken of
the Father, as He said, ' yet I am not alone, for the Father
is with Me.' And He may have said this for the Jews, as
being Himself according to the flesh a Jew, as if He had
said, why hast Thou forsaken the people of the Hebrews,
that they should crucify Thy Son ? So that by the ex-
pression, forsake Me, we may understand either human
nature, or the Jewish people." What in truth may have
been our blessed Lord's unutterable woes we know not,
but this we know, that they were for our sakes. Those
His dying agonies were the birth-pangs of His Church.
But one feels that already one may have been speaking too
curiously on this dreadful subject, although it be only to
cite the opinions of great and good men.

But tenfold darker than the darkness of nature, was tlu>
darkness that clouded the heart of the unbelieving Jew.
Those who stood by, as they were not awe-struck into
silence and dismay by the darkness, neither did they now
understand His words ; for it is only His own sheep who
know His voice ; nor is it to be wondered at, ior they had
1 Comm. in Matt.

350 THE CRUCIFIXION

no eyes to see, and could not perceive the darkness : their
ears were closed, and their heart could not understand. For
when He thus cried out with the first words of that Psalm,
— the whole of which we may well believe had been now
passing in His mind, and the form and subject of His
prayer, — either designedly or not, they misinterpret Him,
thinking lightly of those words that might well darken
Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens, and make the earth
to shake. " Some of those that stood by, when they heard
that, said" (Matt., Mark), "Behold" (Mark), "this man"
(Matt.) " calleth for Ellas " (Matt., Mark). "And imme-
diately" (Matt.) " one of them ran " (Matt., Mark), " and
having taken" (Matt.) " and -filled a sponge with vinegar,
and set it on a reed, gave Him to drink " (Matt, Mark),
" saying, Let be, let its see if Elias cometh to take Him
down" (Mark) ; and indeed the others joined in repeating
his expression, for " the rest said, Let be, let us see if Elias
cometh to save Him" (Matt.). From the two accounts,
says Augustin, we may suppose that both the man him-
self thus spake, and the others joined in the expression.
This will account for the discrepancy, and render it more
descriptive of the circumstance.

St. Chrysostom and St. Jerome both suggest, that it
might have been the soldiers who thus spake, not under-
standing the Hebrew language ; and certainly the offering
Him vinegar does look a little like an act of the soldiers.
And it is the same thing which St. Luke records their
doing, during our Lord's agonies, " coming to Him and
offering Him vinegar." But on the other hand, it hardly
seems probable, that the soldiers should have known any
thing of Elias. Whereas the supposition of the persons
who heard it not understanding the language, might apply
to the Jews themselves; for the ancient Hebrew, in

THE LOUD VOICE 351

which it was spoken, does not appear to have been their
language at this time : and the expressions are like those
of Jewish mockery, whether they understood our Lord's
words or not.

" Let us see if Elias cometh ! " these were probably the
last words that these persons uttered on this awful occa-
sion : for it would appear from St. John, that it was just
before our Lord gave up the ghost. As being the last
words therefore that His enemies spoke to our dying Lord,
they are highly worthy of our notice. The expression
moreover in itself is in the very highest degree remark-
able. It is recorded by two Evangelists, and the more
particularly arrests our attention, when we consider the
mysterious import which was connected at that time, and
is still connected to the present day, with the coming of
Elias ; and moreover from our observing, that every thing
else in the way of fortuitous incident or expression is
either the subject of prophecy, or itself prophetic. "Let
us see if Elias cometh ! " this they had now been doing
for the last three years; and this was the reason they
alleged for not believing in Christ, because " Elias was not
yet come." This seems to have been the objection with
which they had most sorely beset our Lord's disciples,
saying, that Elias was not yet come j and the understand-
ing of which Christ explained to them, as depending on
the state of the heart. And even now it is believed, that
Elias will come before our Lord's Advent, and that the
Jews will, in some sense, be restored by the coming of
Elias. It would appear, therefore, as if the last words
that they said in mockery of our Lord on the Cross, they
had been repeating unto this day, " saying, Let be, let us
see if Elias cometh." And this they say, unconscious of
the marvellous darkness that involves them, and is spread

36'2 THE CRUCIFIXION

over their hearts unto this day. But it may be asked,
what do the other words signify in connexion with this
allusion \ " Let us see whether Elias will come to save
Him," or " to take Him down " 1 Can it indicate that our
Lord is spoken of as suffering to the end of the world in
His members, until Elias shall come, and restore all things,
and reconcile the Jews to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles
to the Jews ; the fathers to the children, and the children
to the fathers? Or can it signify merely our Lord's
coming down from heaven 1 Certainly the words are full
of Divine import, they are still being repeated by them in
every corner of the world, " Let us see if Elias cometh V

THE VINEGAR

THERE are as many as three occasions mentioned by the
different Evangelists, when they offered our Lord vinegar
on the Cross, independently of the first mention of the
vinegar and galL One of these occasions is that which
we have just been speaking of, when He uttered the loud
cry, and which St. Matthew and St. Mark record. An-
other is that which St. John mentions at the termination
of our Lord's agonies, when He said, " I thirst :" and the
other is that which St. Luke speaks of, when he mentions
the soldiers coming to Him and offering Him vinegar. It
may be that all these accounts allude to the same trans-
action, that it took place when, to fulfil the Scriptures, our
Lord said, " I thirst." Thus, indeed, St. Augustin con-
siders it 6 : but I am disposed to think otherwise. The
words of St. Luke rather imply that the soldiers did it
frequently, and in mockery ; and the excruciating thirst,
* See Ministry, 3rd Year, p. 104. 6 Cons. Ev. lib. iii. 54.

THE VINEGAR 353

which persons are said to experience in the midst of such
torments, may have been the reason ; for they are thus
acting in a manner similar to all their conduct, if we con-
sider them as doing this in order to add to His sufferings,
by repeating the mock offer of relief. And on the parti-
cular occasion which St. Matthew and St. Mark speak of,
it is indicated that they then forbore to give Him drink,
saying, " Let alone," waiting to see if Elias would come.
It is therefore natural to suppose that it was a little later
than this, that St. John speaks of a similar circumstance,
as the solemn accomplishment of prophecy.

" After this" says St. John, speaking of our Lord's last
duty to His mother, " Jesus knowing that all things were
now accomplished " which had been written of Him, and
which He had now completed, " that the Scripture might
be fulfilled ; " — that is to say, in obedience to the Scrip-
ture and in the Holy Spirit of God, not as seeking relief
to His own suffering nature, — " saith, I thirst. Now I JUT?
tvas a vessel set there full of vinegar; and they filled a
sponge with vinegar, and put it on hyssop, and applied it
to His mouth"

With regard to the hyssop which is here mentioned,
there is a question whether it was the same thing as
the other Evangelists speak of under the name of the
reed : or whether it was something attached to the end
of the reed, together with the sponge. Some persons,
and indeed St. Austin himself among the number, enter-
tain the latter opinion; and think that it had some
natiival quality of restoring persons from fainting, or that
it was of an unsavoury and bitter taste. With some
reason, too, in confirmation of this opinion, it might be
supposed that the hyssop was not sufficient in length for
the stalk of it to be a substitute for the reed. Augiistin

A a

354 THE CRUCIFIXION

speaks of it as a humble shrub, and as representing
Christ's humility. In the First Book of Kings7 it is
described in contrast to the cedar-tree, " from the cedar-
tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that
springeth out of the wall ;" so that even in that country
it may be supposed to be a small shrub. But in answer
to this it may be said, that for the purpose here described,
it was not necessary that it should be any great length ;
and still less so for the mock sceptre, if we suppose it to
be there also meant by the word " reed :" for the stalk of
this shrub is about a foot and a half in length usually,
and may be longer in Palestine. And the other two
Evangelists use the very same word, when they speak of
attaching the sponge to the reed, as St. John does when
he speaks of attaching it to the hyssop. St. Matthew
and St. Mark speak of having "put it about" a reed; St.
John of having "put it about" hyssop8. "Some say,"
observes Theophylact, "that the reed is called hyssop,
because it has leaves like the reed :" implying that they
considered it one and the same thing. I am inclined to
think that the reed may indeed have been the stalk of the
hyssop in both cases. And that on this occasion, whereas
the other Evangelists had described it under the general
term of the reed or cane, St. John mentions the exact name
and substance. And he may have done so on account of
some mystical import contained in it, which the beloved
disciple might have observed; or that he had known
enough of the Divine dealings, and language of signs, to
know that nothing was unimportant ; or of course it might
be, that he might have been overruled thus to speak
without any human intention in doing so. At all events,

' 1 Kings iv. 33.

8 vepiBels KaAo,uw, Matt., Mark ; vffff&ircp -jrepiBevres, John.

THE VINEGAR 355

we know thus far, that the herb was prescribed to be
used in the Law ; it was commanded to be made use of
in sacrifices with scarlet wool, and considered as purify-
ing. A bunch of hyssop was dipped in the blood of tho
Paschal Lamb, and it was with this very instrument that
the lintel and posts were marked with that sacrificial
blood *. It was also dipped in the blood of the bird in
cleansing the leper *. To which its cleansing import, as
used on such occasions, David alludes, when he says,
"Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be
clean V Here, therefore, it is used in the consummation
of the great atonement; when the sacrifice is finished,
the purification is made. So much was it the case in
this our Lord's oblation of Himself, that He regulated
and performed all things with a reverential and religious
strictness, as in an act of Divine worship; and as St.
Austin well says, " The Man that appeared was suffering
all these things, but the God who was concealed from
view was disposing them :" arranging, disposing, and
accomplishing all things according to His word, and the
types and ordinances that had gone before.

But it may be asked, as the vinegar is here given to
our Lord in answer to His cry, and as a relief from
suffering, why is it mentioned by the Psalmist with an
expression of apparent surprise or complaint, when he
says, "When I was thirsty they gave Me vinegar to
drink" ? However it may be accounted for, as doubtless
it may be, in the literal acceptation, the words are very
significative in that spiritual meaning which is usually
applied to it. For is not this His complaint of His own
Israel, when He says, " I looked that it should bring
forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes3;" and

» Exod. adi. 22. l Levit. xiv. 4. * ps. n. 7. 3 jsa v> ^

356 THE CRUCIFIXION

" their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter ;
their wine is the poison of dragons 4 " 1 Thus St. Cyril
says, " He asks fruit of the vine which He hath planted ;
but * their vine is of the vine of Sodom;' the vine by
nature of the holy Fathers : but of Sodom, by purpose of
heart." And, as St. Jerome says, "The bitter vine
maketh wine that is bitter, as God speaketh to Jerusalem,
' I planted thee a noble vine : how then art thou turned
into the bitterness of a strange vine to Me ? ' " To this,
quoted by St. Jerome, we may add that expression of the
Prophet Hosea 6, — " Ephraim is joined to idols : let him
alone. Their drink is sour." And here the prophet
speaks of our Lord's rejecting, as well as loathing, this
sour and corrupted potion, the bad affection of His
people; and this may more particularly refer to that
which the other Evangelists record; when they offered
Him gall and vinegar, " He tasted thereof, and would
not drink." In like manner of spiritual interpretation,
Origen also says, " They who have knowledge according
to Christ's doctrine, but live badly, offer unto Christ wine,
mingled with gall : they who apply to Christ precepts
contrary to the truth, put vinegar on the sponge, and
apply it to His mouth V And St. Augustin also : " The
Jews themselves were the vinegar, degenerating from the
wine of the Patriarchs and Prophets; and the sponge
the caverns and lurking-places of their hollow and tortuous
heart." He indeed bestows on us the New Wine of His
own Blood ; we give Him in return a vessel full of vinegar,
sourness of heart, and bad affection.

* Dent, xxxii. 32, 33, 8 Hos. iv. 17, 18. « In Matt.

THE CONSUMMATION 357

THE CONSUMMATION

AND now, as St. Augustin says T, — " "When nothing re-
mained to Christ of the punishments He was to endure,
Death is delaying, for he heholds there nothing that is
his. The novelty of the case leads to suspicion. This
man, the first of all, and alone of all, hath he beheld,
who hath not known sin, who is free from fault, and owes
nothing to his laws." Nor indeed could death have any
legitimate power over the Immaculate Son of God, but
this alone remains of all the evils which our Lord hath
taken upon Himself, voluntarily to endure for our sakes.

" When therefore Jesus had received the vinegar, He
said, It is finished" (John). He had drunk to the dregs
the bitter cup of His Father's wrath ; the prophecies were
finished : the work which God had given Him to do
was finished : His Heavenly example and doctrine were
finished : His sufferings were finished : the propitiation
for the sins of mankind was finished. "And Jesus cried
again with a loud voice" says St. Matthew, alluding to His
former " loud cry," of the desertion of God ; " and Jesus
sending forth a loud voice" says St. Mark, or, "and
having cried with a loud voice Jesus said, Father, into Thy
hands I will commend My spirit. And when He had
said this " (Luke), and " having bowed His head" says St.
John, who, standing at the foot of the Cross, would have
noticed, and ever remembered that circumstance, "He
breathed His last" (Mark, Luke), "He delivered up"
(John), or, "sent forth" (Matt.) "the spirit" (Matt,
John). " It is commended," says St. Ambrose, " because
what is commended is reserved and not lost He com-
1 In Serm. de Pass.

358 THE CRUCIFIXION

mended His soul into His hands Who had promised, * I
will not leave Thy soul in hell.' And it is said, * He
delivered up,' " adds the same writer, " because He volun-
tarily sent it forth ; and St. Matthew's expression that
' He sent it forth,' implies that it was of His own free
will8." And this voluntary surrender of Himself, which
is implied in the word He " delivered up '," is what St.
Paul speaks of under the same term, " He delivered Him-
self up " as a sacrifice for us. " This circumstance ex-
plains," says Origen, "that expression in the eighty-seventh
Psalm, that He was 'free among the dead.' And thus the
Jews might see the fulfilment of what He said when they
asked, ' Will He kill Himself?' because He said, ' I will
go where ye cannot come10.' For it was evident from
this, that He had power to go where they had no power
to follow Him V

Our Lord's cry, " I thirst," perhaps signified that human
nature was exhausted, and could sustain no more, and
therefore it was "finished." He received the vinegar for
the last support of sufiering humanity ; " He shall drink
of the brook in the way : therefore shall He lift up His
head V But when nature failed, with a loud and miracu-
lous voice He proved that He had a power over and above
nature ; that He gave up His life freely ; that, as He had
said, " no man taketh it from Me : I lay it down of
Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power
to take it again 3." Origen, indeed, seems to think that
the circumstance which astonished the Centurion was our
Lord's giving up His life to God before nature was ex-
hausted. But would it not rather appear to be a miracu-

8 Expos, in Luc. lib. x. 127. 9 Tr
10 Jolin riii. 22. l Orig. in Joan. torn. ii. 174.

« Ps. ex. 7. 3 John x. 18.

THE CONSUMMATION 359

lously loud voice from exhausted nature ? For a person
who had often witnessed death, as the Centurion probably
had done, would have known that at such a time the
voice and strength are gone ; and our Lord had suffered
the previous night, and this morning, enough to have
caused death. It was before observed, as St. Mark says,
that " they bear Him to the place of execution ;" as if
even at that time it was as much as human nature could
sustain, and He was, from very exhaustion, drawing near
to the gates of death.

Thus St. Chrysostom considers it : " On this account,"
he says, " He cried with a loud voice, that it might be
shown that it was according to His own power. For by
this circumstance, of His sending forth a loud voice in
dying, He most openly showed Himself to be the true
God; for men when they die, are scarcely able to send
forth even a slight voice." " Or," says Hilary, " He sent
forth His spirit with the cry of a loud voice, as grieving
that He carried not all our sins V " When the flesh was
failing," says St. Jerome, " the Divine voice was strong.
While we who are of the earth die with the lowest voice,
or with no voice at all ; He who was from Heaven expired
with an exalted cry." And on the expression in St.
John, of our Lord inclining His head, and giving up the
ghost, St. Augustin says, " Who thus sleeps at his own
free choice as Jesus died ? who thus at his own free will
lays aside his garment as Jesus put off His flesh ? How
great is His power to be hoped for or feared when He
judges, which appeared so great when He dies5." "It
was not," says Chrysostom, "that He bowed His head,
because He expired, but because He bowed His head He
then expired ; by mention of all which things the Evan-
Comm. in Mcitt. xxxiii. 6. 5 In Joan. Tract, cxix.

360 THE CRUCIFIXION

gelists showed that He was the Lord of all." On these
words of the "beloved Evangelist, of His bowing His head,
Origen very beautifully says, that He was " reclining His
head as on His Father's bosom."

Nor indeed do ancient writers fail to observe, that we
also, from the same example, may have something of a
similar resignation in death. " The Lord," says St. Cyril
of Alexandria, "delivered up His spirit unto God the
Father, showing us that the souls of His saints by no
means dwell among tombs, but rather depart into the
hands of the Father of all, while sinners are carried into a
place of punishment, that is, into Hell. He delivered His
soul into the hands of His Father, that we also from this
beginning in and through Him, might have bright hopes,
from a settled disposition and trust that, in suffering the
death of the body, we shall be in the hands of God, and
in a state far better than we are in the flesh." And St.
Athanasius, " In commending Himself to God, He com-
mendeth all mortals who are quickened in Him ; for we
are all His members, as the Apostle says, * we are all one
in Christ V " But Gregory Nyssen here asks, how it is
that at the same time our Lord is spoken of as being in
three different places, in the heart of the earth, as He said
unto the Pharisees ; in the Paradise of God, as He said to
the penitent thief; and now, as He commends Himself
into the Hands of His Father? But as another writer
observes, " To speak distinctly, it was as to His body, that
He was in the grave ; as to His soul, in the place of the
dead ; as God, He was in Paradise with the thief, and on
the throne of God with the Father and the Holy Spirit."
And yet " not," as the same writer observes, " that we can
consider either of these as separate from His Divinity, for
• Gal. iii. De Incarnations.

THE SEVEN SPEECHES OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS 3f)l

in the Word they are ever united in one substance, nor
can His immaculate body, or His immaculate soul, be ever
disunited from the Word, being inseparably connected
with His Divinity V

THE SEVEN SPEECHES OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS

IT is usual and natural for us to consider great weight to
be due to dying words ; but incalculably great must be
the attention which is due to our Lord's last words : those
injunctions which He has bequeathed to us : for He loved
us as never man loved; He knew as never man knew;
He spake as never man spake ; He loved as a Parent, as a
Bridegroom, as a Brother, as a Friend, for He spake of
Himself under all these ; but infinitely more as being
Himself essential Love : He spake as One who knew what
was in man, and saw to the end of eternity.

His words, too, on the Cross, falling into the mystical
number seven, come before us as replete beyond all things
with Divine doctrine and instruction in righteousness. For
the number seven seems to indicate something infinite, as
in that Heavenly Sabbath, of which the seventh day is the
type ; in the sevenfold gifts of the Good Spirit, and seven
Angels, and seven Churches of God, and the seven evil
spirits, and the seven deadly sins ; for wickedness runs
into that which is infinite in its consequences. And pos-
sibly it may signify that which is infinite — infinite in
power and duration — but as connected with that which is
finite ; for if the number Three is infinite power, yet the
number Four seems to imply universality and perfection
in that which is finite, as the four quarters of the globe,
" Damasoenus, Anr. Cat.

362 THE CRUCIFIXION

the four rivers of Paradise, the four Evangelists ; for these
fill up and perfect the world and the Church. And the
number Seven is formed of three and four combined. This
account, therefore, of this sacred mystical number may
afford us a reason for considering these our Lord's last
speeches in a sevenfold character or point of view : and at
the same time, by this explanation of that number, may
serve to show that we rather suggest meanings, than limit
or confine them to those only which are expressed.
Our Lord's words are as follow :

1. Father, forgive them, for they know not what

they do.

2. This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.

3. Woman, behold thy son !

4. Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ?

5. I thirst.

6. It is finished.

7. Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit.
First of all, we may well suppose that the duties they

are calculated to teach us, for our example, are such as lie
at the very foundation of true Christian obedience and
Evangelical charity, as they pass from seven into sevenfold
manifestation and development. These duties, such as
are the very groundwork of those Christian graces and
tempers which we are to cultivate, seem to be the fol-
lowing :

1. Forgiveness of injuries.

2. Penitence.

3. Filial duty.

4. Fear of God.

5. Fulfilment of His WorcL

6. Perfect obedience.

7. Kesignation.

THE SEVEN SPEECHES OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS 363

Secondly, they may be considered as containing within
them the great mysteries of our faith, and doctrines ema-
nating from the Cross, truths laid up in the Ark of the
Covenant, such as these :

1. The remission of sins.

2. The intermediate state to he with Christ

3. The Church the home of bereavement.

4. Tembleness of God's Judgments.

5. Truth of the Scriptures.

6. Justification in Christ.

7. The Resurrection of the Body.

In the third place, they may be considered as setting
forth the mysterious attributes of our Blessed Lord Him-
self:

1. His Mediation and Intercession.

2. His Kingly Power.

3. The Son of Man.

4. His human SouL

5. His human Body.

6. His sinless perfection.

7. His voluntary Sacrifice.

Or again, the 1st shows His fellowship with man ; the
2nd, His Divine Omnipotence ; the 3rd, His human rela-
tionship ; the 4th, His taking on Him our sins ; the 5th,
His taking on Him our suffering nature; the 6th, His
fulness, of which we receive; the 7th, our reconciliation
to God in Him.

As these expressions become thus significative in divers
senses; so likewise the Cross itself on which He dies, may
be considered in various ways according to His manifold
attributes. For thus His Cross becomes,
The throne of our King.
The altar of our High Priest.

364 THE CRUCIFIXION

The tribunal of our Judge.

The mercy-seat of our God.

The trophy of the Conqueror of death.

The ensign of the Captain of our Salvation.

The rod of His Justice against sinners.
All our reflections on the Cross of Christ, and on Christ
crucified, will differ as we consider it, and all the circum-
stances connected with it, in either of these points of view.
From either point we may safely contemplate the truth in
its manifold aspects ; but that point from which we look
to it with most advantage to ourselves, must depend on
our own individual character ; on our past life, on our
present circumstances of good or evil, on our existing
needs of correction or assistance ; on our natural or acquired
dispositions ; on our spiritual or temporal dangers. The
various forms which the Cross assumes, may be com-
prehended in the seven heads above enumerated; in
each of these does it appear reflected, as in a different
medium.

Again; all these manifold significations in which the
Cross presents itself to our devout attention, may be con-
sidered as set forth in the divers types and analogies,
under which it is represented in Holy Scripture. For
these various designations and offices may be considered to
be represented in various figures ; in each of the attributes
above mentioned we shall see some corresponding symbol
or Scriptural expressions.

In the first, it is " the sceptre of His kingdom," which
is "a right sceptre."

In the second, it is Aaron's rod that budded, and so in-
dicated the true Priesthood.

In the third, it is the rod of Moses, which destroyed
Pharaoh and rescued Israel.

THE SEVEN SPEECHES OP CHRIST ON THE CROSS 365

In the fourth, it is the Ark of Noah, which saved from
the Deluge.

In the fifth, it is the staff of Elisha, which was laid on
the dead child.

In the sixth, it is the spear of Joshua, which he stretched
forth over the city Ai.

In the seventh, it is the axe laid at the root of the tree,
which the Baptist spoke of8.

And if in figure and symbol, so also in the parables of
His gracious teaching, shall we find the Son of Man who
is now hanging on the Cross, and teaching us from thence,
in a sevenfold aspect. For He is often Himself repre-
sented in His own parable : He is Himself " the man who
was a king;" "the man who was a householder;" He is
Himself to be found in the persons of the poor ; and He
has taken to Himself the place of the sinner, and expresses
Himself for our sakes in the accents of penitential humilia-
tion. The expression

" Father, forgive them," may serve to represent to us that
bountiful creditor, who frankly forgives His debtor
ten thousand talents.

"This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise," are the
words of that good Shepherd, who had found the
sheep that was lost, and was bearing it home rejoicing
to His Father's fold.

The commendation of the blessed Virgin to the disciple,
when the sword had pierced her soul, is the act of
that good Samaritan, who committed the wounded
man a| His departure to the Master of the Inn, to
the Steward of His own household the Church,

e Mentioned by Irenaeus as an emblem of the Cross. See Tracts
for the Times, No. 89, page 34.

366 THE CRUCIFIXION

saying, " Take care of him, when I come again I will
repay."

That cry of the desertion of God, from our Lord bearing
sin, may express the humiliation and desertions of
that accepted Publican, who ventured not to lift up
his eyes to Heaven, but smote on his breast.

That expression of " I thirst," may be signified in the dying
Lazarus, who, while angels were waiting to receive his
soul into Paradise, was dying without the gate in
want and nakedness.

The term " It is finished," may remind us all of the
Bridegroom in the parable, standing by and saying
to the wise and foolish virgins, " It is finished," and
passing in to the Marriage Feast.

And when our Lord commended His righteous soul into
the hands of His Father, it was as the First-born
among many brethren, — as the first of those who are
like that "good and faithful servant," who shall enter
into the "joy of his Lord," whom " He shall appoint
Euler over all that He hath."

THE RENDING OF THE VEIL

THE sun had now been darkened for three hours during
our Lord's extreme agony, while the powers of darkness
were let loose. "And " when He uttered His last cry and
gave up the ghost, " behold" says St. Matthew, as if to
imply the immediate connexion of the two events ; — and
indeed St. Luke mentions the circumstance before he re-
cords our Lord's cry, as if from both these we might con-
clude it to be coincident with it ; — " behold, the veil of the
temple was rent " (Matt., Mark, Luke) " in twain " (Matt.,

THE RENDING OF THE VEIL 367

Mark) " through the midst " (Luke), "from the top to the
bottom " (Matt., Mark). " And the earth quaked, and the
rocks were rent; and the graves " (contained in those rocks)
"were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept
arose" (Matt.). But this latter circumstance probably
occurred on the following Sunday (as we know it is cus-
tomary with St. Matthew thus to introduce things out of
the order of time), for he adds, "And they went forth
from their graves after His Resurrection, and went into
the Holy City, and appeared unto many;" which most
wonderful and mysterious event we should not have
known, but for this incidental mention of it by St. Matthew.
"And the centurion" (Matt., Mark, Luke), "and they that
loere with him, watching Jesus, when they perceived the
earthquake, and the things that came to pass, feared greatly
and said, Truly this was the Son of God" (Matt.). But
it was more particularly the Roman centurion himself, as
St. Mark and St. Luke mention ; " the centurion who was
standing opposite to Him" (Mark); and therefore from that
position more particularly observed Him. And the thing
that most of all struck him with this feeling of awe, was
that miraculous loud cry. " The centurion when he per-
ceived" (Mark, Luke) "what took place" (Luke); "that so
crying He gave up the ghost" (Mark), "he glorified God "
(Luke) by confessing Him, and "said, Truly this man was
the Son of God " (Mark) ; or, as St. Luke says, " Certainly
this was a righteous man." It might have been that he
repeated both of these expressions in his awe and wonder ;
this would have been very natural : or it might have been
that he used the words St. Mark records, of His being
" the Son of God," alluding to our Lord's having used that
expression, but without any knowledge of its very high
and mysterious meaning; and signifying by it nothing

368 THE CRUCIFIXION

more, than that which St. Luke has thought fit to express
by the words "a righteous man."

Those also who before had been unconcerned spectators,
or wantonly taking part in this dreadful deed, now began
to be affected at what had been done : and partook in the
feeling of the soldiers, which communicated a general awe
and consternation. For St. Luke says, "And all the
multitudes who had come together to that sight, when they
beheld what had taken place, smiting their breasts" as in
grief and amazement at what had been done, " returned,"
or quietly withdrew.

It is evident that this rending of the veil implies, that
not only had our Saviour entered into the Holy of Holies,
" into Heaven itself, to appear in the presence of God for
us," but that He had also broken through the partition
wall or veil by which we were excluded, so that we like-
wise might follow Him thither. For this veil signified,
St. Paul tells us, His flesh, through which, being broken
in death, He of course Himself would enter into Heaven ;
but which being broken for us, gives us also, together with
Him, free access. For we have thence, says the Apostle,
" boldness to enter into the holiest, by a new and living
way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil,
that is to say, His flesh V Thus, in short, it signified
what is expressed in the Ambrosian Hymn, " When Thou
hadst overcome the sharpness of death, Thou didst open
the kingdom of Heaven to all believers."

Nor does it merely signify our admission into Heaven
after death, but also our having access now into the
Holiest of Holies, through the blood of Christ with which
we are sprinkled, for it is in this sense that St. Paul ap-
plies it in this passage. This, too, is according to the
» Heb. x. 19, 20.

THE RENDING OF THE VEIL 369

analogy of all Scripture, that expressions and emblems
which are applied to Heaven hereafter, are also applied to
the Christian state, as " the kingdom of Heaven " upon
earth. According to this subordinate meaning, it would
signify that the mysteries of God contained in the letter
of the Jewish laws and ordinances are now entirely thrown
open and made manifest : that we may enter into them,
and partake of that inestimable grace and truth which
was contained in them : that there is nothing now, which
is of the nature of a Jewish rite, or lifeless ceremony ; but
instead of this, whatever there is in the Christian Church,
contains Heaven within it, ministers grace, and is of a
sacramental nature. For the way which Christ hath con-
secrated for us is " a living way." " No wonder," says
Origen, " that the veil of the temple is rent in twain,
which veiled the inner mysteries, so that the disciples of
Christ, receiving spiritual eyes, may behold those things
which, before Jesus, were shown to none." There were
two veils of the Temple, he says, of which this one that
was now rent was the outer veil ; and by its being rent
from the top to the bottom it signified that the mystery
of Christ from the foundation of the world unto the end
of all things, was now manifested. " But when that
which is perfect shall have come, then shall the second
veil also be taken away, so that we shall behold the True
Ark of the Testament, as it is in itself, the Cherubim, and
true Mercy-seat, and the Manna laid up in the golden pot,
and greater things than these : which were shown in the
law of Moses, of which God said, * Thou shalt make all
things according to the pattern shown thee in the
mount.' "

But Theophylact explains the rending of the veil from
the top to the bottom, as the rending of our flesh from

Bb

370 THE CRUCIFIXION

Adam to the last of mankind ; for our flesh is the veil of
our mind, and this is rent in Christ, for the veil is His
flesh. And this will also fall in with the interpretation
of Origen, that on the breaking of our flesh, we shall be-
hold that which is behind the second veil. Another
explanation indeed, or rather an additional one, is also
given of the rending of the veil, by Hilary, Ambrose,
Theophylact, and Jerome ; that it meant " the dividing
of the people and departure of the guardian Angel," as
Hilary says ; " the retiring of the Holy Spirit from the
temple," says Theophylact, " and its being polluted by
the Romans ; " and St. Ambrose, " the profanation of the
synagogue." But still they also understand it to signify,
that the veil which separated us from Heaven is done
away, " namely, the enmity of God," says Theophylact,
" and sin : " and that we have spiritual sight afforded us
to discern the mysteries of God.

Nor is it to be wondered at, that, in addition to these
signs, the earth also should quake at the death of her
Lord. Perhaps it was hereby signified, that, at their hear-
ing " the loud voice " of Christ, the dead were all moved
in their graves : and that the earth herself thereby implied
that she was ready to give up her dead at the call of the
Lord, as she will do when she next hears His loud voice.
The rending of the rock of course indicated the rending of
that which is most hard in nature ; besides which it may
be observed, that the Eock is of itself the very type of
Christ, and of Christ smitten. And the rocks here spoken
of were, perhaps, the depositories of the dead ; as the
tombs were made in rocks. The dead are henceforth said
to " sleep in Christ," who is the true Eock. Nor is it
strange that on such an occurrence the good men, who had
trusted in Christ, should be so reanimated as to break

THE RENDING OF THE VEIL 371

their bonds of death, and to rise with Him ; by anticipa-
tion, as it were, of the time of which our Lord spake,
when He said, " The hour cometh and now is, when they
that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of
God, and they that hear shall live."

But yet, notwithstanding all these signs of nature bear-
ing witness to, and suffering with the Lord, yet the heart
of the Jews still continues obdurate and unrelenting ;
proving that of all things in the world there is nothing so
difficult, no miracle so wonderful, as the conversion of a
sinner. They stood now in the place of Pharaoh of old ;
the only effect of the miracles wrought before them was,
that God hardened their hearts more and more. " Oh, the
breasts of Jews," says St. Ambrose, "more hard than the
stones. The rocks are rent, but their hearts are hardened.
The judge entreats ; his officer believes ; the traitor, by
his death, condemns his crime ; the elements flee ; the
earth is shaken ; the tombs are opened : yet the obduracy
of the Jews remains unmoved while the world is shaken10."
And St. Gregory speaks much to the following effect :
" The Heavens knew Him, and forthwith sent forth a
star, and a company of Angels to sing His birth : the sea
knew Him, and made itself a way to be trodden by His
feet : the earth knew Him, and trembled at His dying :
the sun knew Him, and hid the rays of its light : the
rocks and walls knew Him, for they were rent in twain at
the time of His death : Hell knew Him, and gave up the
dead that it had received. But though the senseless ele-
ments perceived Him to be their Lord, the hearts of the
unbelieving Jews knew Him not as God, and, more hard
than the rocks themselves, were not rent by repentance."

10 Expos, in Luc. lib. x. 128.
B b 2

372 THE CRUCIFIXION

THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST

THE fierce excitement of this terrible scene is now sub-
siding into stillness, and we naturally look around for the
faithful followers of our Lord. Stationed on a distant
spot, removed from the insolence of the soldiery and the
taunts of the exulting Pharisees, they had been no uncon-
cerned spectators of this sad tragedy. "And th&re stood"
says St. Luke, "all His acquaintance afar off;" and
"many" (Matt.) "women" (Matt., Mark, Luke) "were
beholding from afar " (Matt., Mark), antf " seeing these
things " (Luke) ; " such as had followed together with
Him" (Matt., Luke), _with "Jesus" (Matt.) "from
Galilee " (Matt., Luke),"" to minister unto Him" (Matt.) ;
" which also, when He was in Galilee, followed Him and
ministered unto Him " (Mark). In this general company
there were some who are usually known for a more inti-
mate and close attendance on our Lord, and who are there-
fore expressly mentioned : "Among these were Mary Mag-
dalene, and Mary the mother of James (the less" Mark)
" and of Joses " (Matt., Mark), who is called Mary the
wife of Cleophas by St. John l ; " and the mother of
Zeledee's children " (Matt.), or " Salome " (Mark). "And
many other women who came up with Him unto Jeru-
salem" (Mark). When speaking of these women, thus
watching the Passion of our Lord, Origen beautifully
says, " Blessed I esteem those women, who are built up to
blessedness by the spectacle of the Word, and by the death
of the Body of Jesus ; for every thing which is in Christ,
if it be beheld in truth, maketh him that beholdeth blessed *."
1 John xix. 25. 3 Conun. in Matt. 141.

THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST 373

But two of the women, who are named as being with
the above-mentioned party afar oft', namely the two Marys,
are said by St. John to have been at one time close to the
Cross, together with the blessed Virgin and himself. It
may have been, that at one period of this long and pro-
tracted scene of suffering, the beloved disciple had gone
and brought our Lord's Mother to the place where he him-
self was stationed at the foot of the Cross ; and with her
had brought from that company the two Marys, her sister,
and Mary Magdalene, to accompany and support her at so
trying a scene. Or it might be that the blessed Virgin
and St. John were themselves there throughout : and that,
at one time, probably near the close of the day, they were
joined by those two companions in sorrow, the other two
Marys. For these are marked throughout for their earnest
and assiduous attendance ; both of them after the burial
this evening, and also when the Sabbath was past, are
found separate from the others in their most zealous minis-
trations on our Lord ; and therefore might naturally be
expected to be found apart from them during this long
and agitating period of our Lord's suffering ; when sepa-
rated from the others, who were in the distance, it would
naturally be their feeling to approach more nearly to the
Cross of Christ. St. Augustin indeed suggests, that they
might have been first of all near the Cross, and afterwards
have retired to a distance from the crowd, after our Lord
had committed His mother to the Evangelist. During the
six hours that our Lord was dying, this is of course suppos-
able, and it must be allowed, that at the close of the narra-
tive they are spoken of as " standing afar off;" but on the
other side, it appears that the mention of them by the
other three Evangelists does not refer to any definite
period of time ; whereas the incident, wherein St. John

374 THE CRUCIFIXION

introduces them, appears to have been a very little before
our Lord's death. Besides this, it seems more natural to
suppose, that if they were not near to our Lord all the
time, they would rather have drawn near at His death and
the termination of His sufferings, and when the violence
of the scene was in some degree abated, than at that time
have withdrawn farther from Him. However that may
be, the discrepancy in the Evangelists, by which our
thoughts become more engaged on the subject, and the
natural change and movement it exhibits in such a com-
pany, tend to afford us a more lively view of this scene of
awful interest, than the repetition of precisely the same
account in the different narratives could have done.

THE BLOOD AXD WATER

IT was now between the two evenings, the time when the
Paschal Lamb was slain, between three and six o'clock, or
the rising of the stars ; and it was necessary that our
Lord's body should be removed from the Cross. The
Divine reason for this was in order that our Lord might
fulfil the type of Jonas by being three days in the earth ;
the human reason, which operated on the religious scru-
pulousness of the wicked Jews, was that the Body might
be removed before the approaching Sabbath ; and because
the Law had commanded that the body of one that is
hanged, which " is accursed of God," shall not remain upon
the tree " all night 8." These reasons were more especially
urgent on the present occasion, on account of the import-
ance of that Sabbath which was approaching ; for it was
3 Deut. xxi. 23.

THE BLOOD AND WATER 37')

the Great Sabbath, that Sabbath which occurred in the
Paschal week. So mysteriously and wonderfully were the
Divine counsels being in every particular fulfilled ; for as
the Sabbath was ever observed, because God rested on
that day from the works of Creation, so was it meet that
from the work of Eedemption, now finished, Christ should
on that day rest in the grave. And, as all things are ful-
filled in Christ in their very highest sense, so it is not
only the Sabbath, but the high Sabbath ! " that day was "
indeed "an high day." "How powerful is truth !" says
St. Chrysostom, observing this, "by their zeal the pro-
phecies are fulfilled." Powerful indeed and mighty is it ;
as if instinct with an unerring and heavenly strength, it
moves onward, as the creative word of Prophecy hath gone
forth ; and all human things, as it advances, it moulds,
and bears on, and fashions into great and Divine sem-
blances, and significations, and realities : it " turns not
aside, but goes on straight forward :" the designs, the pas-
sions, the accidents, the graces, the sins of men, the things
of nature and the things beyond nature, it takes on the
right hand and on the left, and bears on with it to its
great fulfilment ; they impede and stop not its progress,
but are as if only made to further it, and bear witness to
its unbending and unconquerable course. All are borne
on together in the mighty tide of its Providence.

"TJie Jews therefore" says St. John, "that their bodies
might not remain on the Cross on the Sabbath-day, since it
was the preparation, — for great was the day of that Sab-
bath,— requested Pilate that their legs might be broken,"
in order to destroy any remains of life that there might be
in them, "and that they migltt be taken away. The
soldiers therefore came;" they were probably not those
soldiers who had witnessed His death, but those whom

376 THE CRUCIFIXION

the Governor sent for this purpose, and who knew not the
fact of His dying : " and they brake the legs of the first,
and of the other which was crucified with Him. But when
they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead already,
they brake not His legs ;" being restrained and overruled
by the watchful hand of God, which withheld them : for
He had Himself expressly promised this, saying, "He
keepeth all His bones, so that not one of them is broken."
" But one of the soldiers," in order to be assured of the
certainty of His death, " with a spear pierced His side, and
forthwith came thereout blood and water." To which words
St. John adds a strong and emphatic declaration of their
truth from his own ocular testimony, signifying thereby
the vast importance of the fact he declared, and the neces-
sity of a belief in it, almost, one would suppose, beyond
other facts which he records. "And he that saw it hath
borne witness, and his testimony is true: and he knoweth
that he saith true, that ye might believe."

Now some have supposed that all that the Evangelist
intended was that this blood and water was the proof of
the reality of our Lord's death : but if this flowing of
water from the heart is so, it is a proof only known to
physicians ; nor does the certainty of our Lord's deatk
appear to be a matter ever doubted ; it is also more suffi-
ciently proved by other circumstances than it could have
been by this one alone ; and, so far from its being of itself
a proof of death, Theophylact observes that it was of itself
miraculous, that blood should flow from a dead body.
From this mode of speaking one would be naturally dis-
posed to think that he was recording something beyond
nature, rather than a mere natural consequence of death.
It may have been that the Evangelist himself had no
clear understanding of what it indicated ; but that,

THE BLOOD AND WATER 377

being impressed with a sense of the vast consequences
and significances of all things respecting our Lord,
he had no more than a general impression of some-
thing in a high degree miraculous and mysterious. How-
ever that may be, as St. John is considered to have had
beyond others an insight into the depth of Divine
mysteries4, we should rather look to himself to explain
it, if in any part of his writings he would afford us any
clue. Now it is observable, that throughout his Gospel
he is apt to introduce references to the two Divine Sacra-
ments, and yet in such a manner as not openly to display
that allusion, according to the well-known reserve, or holy
modesty and reverence of the early Church on these sub-
jects. And it so happens that we find, in another place,
he makes mention of water and blood in the same solemn
and emphatic manner that he does here, and apparently in
allusion to this circumstance. In his first Epistle he says,
" This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus
Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood."
And again, — " There are three that bear witness on earth
— the Spirit, and the Water, and the Blood ; and these
three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater ; for this is the witness of God
which He hath testified of His Son." He here speaks of
the Water and the Blood as witnesses, together with that
great Witness, the Spirit Himself. These things, there-
fore, must contain within them some allusions infinitely
great. The piercing of our Lord's side was indeed the
proof of the reality of His death, for it is from Him as
dead that our life proceeds ; but this was not the great
object to which the Evangelist bears record.

He evidently alludes to the two Sacraments. The water
4 " Alvsteria Diviiia plenius penotrat," says Ambrose of St. John.

378 THE CRUCIFIXION

and the blood were in Baptism, and the water and the
blood were in the holy Eucharist ; and these two are the
life of the Church. And thus the Church, the Bride of
Christ, is taken out of His side while He is asleep in
death ; in like manner as Eve was taken from the side of
Adam, when, as it is said, " God caused a deep sleep to
fall upon Adam."

This mystical and sacramental interpretation thus attri-
buted to the whole circumstance is according to the
opinion of ancient writers. St. Chrysostom simply and
naturally explains the meaning of the Evangelist : "I
heard it not from others, but was myself present, and saw
it." "And his testimony is true, he suitably adds in
mentioning this insult on Christ, not as if he was recording
any great and wonderful sign, which should render his
words suspected ; but this he said, to close the mouths of
heretics ; as intimating therein future mysteries ; and as
himself gazing into that treasure which lay concealed
therein." And St. Austin says, "That the word
* opened? His side" (as it is rendered in the Latin version)
" is full of meaning, as if it were in some sense opening
unto us the door of life, out of which flowed the Sacra-
ments of the Church ; without which there is no entrance
into that life, which is true life." " And this," he says,
" was foreshown by Noah making a door in the side of
the ark, by which those animals were to enter, which were
not to perish by the flood, and by which things the Church
was prefigured. On this account the first woman was
taken from the side of the man, when he slept, and was
called the mother of all living." And afterwards, — " This
Second Adam inclined His head and slept on the Cross,
that from thence His wife might be formed, which flowed
from His side while He slept. 0 death, from which the

THE BLOOD AND WATER 379

dead obtain second life8 !" St. Ambrose also says, "From
His dead body, incorrupted though dead, flowed forth the
life of us all." " The water and the blood went forth ;
the one to cleanse, the other to redeem. Let us drink
therefore the price paid for us, that by drinking we may
be redeemed8." Also in like manner St. Chrysostom,
drawing as usual exhortations to devout practice from it, —
"Since here the sacred Mysteries receive their origin, draw
near as one about to drink from the very side of Christ V
And Theophylact ; " Let them therefore blush who mix
not the wine in the sacred Mysteries ; for they seem not
to believe that water flowed from His side." St. Cyril of
Alexandria8, too, speaks of the blood and the water as
" the image and first offerings of the mystical Eucharist
and of holy Baptism."

Thus did our blessed Lord " empty out all His blood
upon the earth," as St. Athanasius expresses it, for our
sakes. So perfect a Sacrifice, that not only all the labours
of His life, but all His life-blood in death, did He entirely
exhaust for our sakes. After shedding it drop by drop in
His bloody sweat ; and afterwards in the scourging ; and
then from His bleeding brows ; and from His bleeding
hands and feet on the Cross ; not even after death did His
heart blood cease to flow for us ; but now even after deatn
did the power of His ineffable charities burst forth in a
continued stream, beyond nature, and contrary to nature ;
blended with water, to wash and strengthen us, and give
us life. Even in death His charity dies not, forgets us
not, nor ceases to minister to us ; nay, in death it becomes
the more living, and full of all-healing, all-blessing, all-
sustaining energy.

6 In Joan. cxx. 2. • Expos, in Lucam.

' Horn. Ixxxiv. » In Joan. Evang.

380 THE CRUCIFIXION

Nor is the Evangelist content with declaring his ocular
testimony to the fact : he adduces also two prophecies, in
fulfilment of which the two circumstances took place.
" For these things were done" he adds, " that the Scripture
might be fulfilled, ' A bone of Him shall not be broken ;'
and again another Scripture saith, ' Tliey shall look on Him
whom they pierced* " (John). The first passage refers to
that particular injunction, which was more than once
given, respecting the Paschal Lamb, that not a bone should
be broken6. And as Holy Scripture has always "eyes
that look both before and after," so this circumstance
appears not only to look behind as the fulfilment of the
Paschal type, but also to look before as typical of our
Lord's Body, the Church : the unity and entireness of
which, so often set before us, is signified also in this
event, that not a bone of Him should be broken even in
death; that is, that in circumstances the most calamitous
the true Church of God shall not be broken. And as
that which is fulfilled in Christ and His Church is also
fulfilled in His members ; in allusion to some typical
meaning contained in the circumstance, the Psalmist says,
first of all of himself escaping from the Philistines to the
cave of Adullam, and then prophetically of Christ and all
Christians, — " The Lord delivereth the righteous out of all
his troubles ;" " He keepeth all his bones, so that not one
of them is broken a :" which seems to signify, that however
the righteous in Christ are exercised by afflictions, they
shall not be such as to break or destroy them. I find that
Quesnel takes it in this threefold sense : " The Scripture,"
he says, " fulfilled in the figurative lamb, was only a type
of the literal accomplishment in the true Lamb. It is
likewise still fulfilled both in the Church, which God will

9 As Exod. xii. 46, and Numb. ix. 12. * Ps. xxxiv. 20.

THE BLOOD AND WATER 381

always preserve entire and in unity ; and in the saints,
whom He fills with His strength, and secures so effectually,
as not to suffer a hair of their head to perish." The other
Scripture to which the Evangelist alludes, may indeed be
partly that expression in the Psalms, where we read,
"They pierced My hands and My feet;" but more dis-
tinctly that in the Prophet Zechariah a, " I will pour upon
the house of David the Spirit of grace and of supplications :
and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced,
and they shall mourn for Him — the land shall mourn,
every family apart." Which prophecy at length, although
it refers to the Jews, yet does it also describe the whole
Christian condition, which is a state of mourning and sup-
plication; wherein it is said, "Blessed are they that
mourn." But more particularly doubtless is it to be ful-
filled, as St. John himself declares to us in the Apocalypse,
on the appearance of the Son of Man bearing the marks
of His Crucifixion on the day of Judgment, when " every
eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him ;" in
reference to which our Lord Himself seems to say, that
they " shall see the sign of the Son of Man ;" and that all
the tribes of the earth, evidently with an allusion to this
prophecy of Zechariah, " shall mourn because of Him"
" Zooh. tii. 10. 12,

382

SECTION III— THE SEPULTURE

" Free among the dead, like unto them that are wounded, and
lie in the grave : who are out of remembrance, and are cut away
from thy hand."

THE RICH IN HIS DEATH

IT was " after these things" St. John tells us, while the
bodies were still hanging on the Cross, although means had
been taken to hasten death ; " and now " (Mark) " when it
loos evening " (Matt., Mark) ; " since it was the prepara-
tion, which is the day before the Sabbath " (Mark), and
therefore it was necessary that they should soon be re-
moved ; according to the leave that Pilate had given,
before the Sabbath commenced, which was on that evening.
"Behold" (Luke) "there came" (Matt., Mark) "a rich
man " (Matt.) "from Arimathea " (Matt., Luke), " a city
of the Jews" (Luke), "whose name was Joseph" (Matt.,
Luke) ; indeed he was known as " Joseph of Arimathea "
(Mark, John). He " was a counsellor " (Luke), St. Mark
says, "an honourable counsellor," one probably of eminence :
it has been supposed that he was the Eoman officer in the
provinces, so named, and in Latin " Decurio ;" so Origen
and others have thought : but St. Luke's words would
rather lead one to infer that he was one of the Sanhedrim,
for he adds that although one of them, yet " this man had
not consented to their counsel and deed" He was " a rich
man," St. Matthew says ; and St. Luke, " a good man and
a just;" and that " he also was expecting the kingdom of

THE RICH IN HIS DEATH 383

God " (Mark, Luke). This expectation was attributed to
the devout Simeon, who was " waiting for the consolation
of Israel *," and seems to indicate a devout preparation of
mind, looking forward in faith, " He himself also was "
(Matt.) " a disciple of Jesus " (Matt., John), not one of the
twelve, says Chrysostom, hut one of the seventy : " but
secretly for fear of the Jews " (John). St. Amhrose, indeed,
applies these words of his secrecy to the act of requesting
Pilate, as if he took the passage to mean, " that he came
to Pilate secretly for fear of the Jews." But the Greek
rather indicates that he was " a disciple in secret " for fear
of the Jews, and that now " he took courage" as St. Mark
says, " and went in to Pilate"

" This man came to Pilate " (Matt., Luke), " and begged
the Body of Jesus" (Matt., Mark, Luke). "He asked
Pilate that he might take the Body of Jesus " (John).
" Pilate " expressed doubt and surprise that life should he
so soon extinct. He "marvelled," says St. Mark, " if He
were already dead." For, as Origen says, "they lived in
that torment sometimes for the whole night, and even
through the succeeding day." But "being no doubt glad to
accede to such a request, not only on account of the
station and character of the person who requested it, but
also because such a request implied an agreement with his
own convictions, and a sympathy with the deep interest
he had evinced in favour of Christ, he sent for the soldier
who had the charge of the execution. — " And having called
to him the Centurion, he inquired of him whetfier He had
been any time dead. And when he knew from the Cen-
turion" (Mark) that it was the case, "Pilate gave him
leave " (John), " he gave Mm the Body " (Mark), or " com-
manded the Body to be given up " (Matt.) to Joseph. "It
1 Luke ii. 25.

384 THE SEPULTURE

was Divinely provided for," it is said in Bede, when
speaking of Joseph, " that he should be rich in order to
have access to Pilate, for no mean man could have had
access to the Governor : and that he should be a just man
in order to receive the Body of the Lord." Indeed, we
may apply in a spiritual sense also what Bede says, for he
must be a just man, and one that is waiting for the
kingdom of God, who is meet to receive the Body of the
Lord. St. Chrysostom remarks on his boldness, " Observe
the courage of this man ; for he put himself in danger of
death, and underwent the enmities of all, on account of his
good will to Christ. And he not only dares to ask for,
but also to bury the Body of Christ2." And indeed St.
Jerome suggests that he is the person described in the first
Psalm, as he who " hath not walked in the counsels of the
ungodly," and the like3. "It was a laudable daring,"
says Theophylact, "for he thought not, 'I shall fall
from my riches, and I shall be driven out by the Jews,
if I seek the Body of one who was condemned for blas-
phemy.' "

This good Joseph, it may be observed, was of Ari-
mathea, or Ramah, the city of Samuel, and the place of
Rachel's tomb : so that, if he returned to his home on
this night, to weep for this shocking deed, there might
then have been the fulfilment of that prophecy in the
mourning for our Lord Himself, which was also fulfilled
in the mourning for the innocent Martyrs who were slain
at His birth. And if the prophecy has any relation to
this occasion of our Lord's death, then it seems to unite
our blessed Lord's death with theirs, and sanctifies them,
and gives the hope to their death. " A voice was heard in
Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping : Rachel weeping
a Oomm. in Matt. 8 In Matt. lib. iv. ad loc.

THE RICH IN HIS DEATH 385

for her children refused to be comforted for her chil-
dren, because they -were not. Thus saith the Lord;
Eefrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from
tears : for thy work shall be rewarded ; and they shall
come again from the land of the enemy4." These two
occasions may, at all events, be well connected together,
for they shall return from the "land of the enemy,*'
because Christ returns from thence. He returns, and
therefore they return ; He in them and with them : this
is the consolation of the weeping mother; this is thfc
consolation for him of E,amah, the good Joseph, who is
seen as the chief mourner at the tomb of Christ ; weeping
for Him of whom that other Joseph had been the type,
when he was sold into Egypt by his brethren ; and the
spirit of Rachel was weeping for Him at the tomb.

Nor was this just man of Arimathea alone in this most
holy task ; there came forth likewise another, who like
himself also was "a ruler of the Jews5," and a secret
disciple, to take part with him in this last duty. " There
came also Nicodemus, who at the first came to Jesus by
night " (John), as St. John had recorded in the beginning
of his Gospel ; and whom he had since designated under
the same description, when he spoke of his pleading in
our Lord's behalf before the Pharisees 8. The expression
here " at the first," St. Augustin takes to imply, that his
first coming was by night, but that he probably afterwards
came frequently. St. Cyril of Alexandria thinks that the
mention of the two, as coming forward, is in order to
bear testimony to the truth of Christ's death, "for the
Law says, by the mouth of two or three witnesses shall
every word be established."

Here we may pause to observe, how, when the world
« Jer. xxxi. 15, 16. * John iii. 1. « John vii. 50.

0 C

386 THE SEPULTURE

seems most triumphant, then Christ's power begins most
to reveal itself. Already does the power of His death
begin to work, so that in His utmost humiliation, even
unto the grave, the rich gain that strength and courage
which they had not in His life, to confess Christ; to
confess not the living Christ, nor Christ risen, but Christ
crucified. To confess the Christ, when to all worldly
appearance He could profit them not ; and when the act
of doing so was such, that all human expediency and
prudence, motives which too often operate with the rich,
would have condemned their interference. These were in
some sense the first of Confessors. The action, too, is in
this respect like most of the best actions of the saints
of God in Scripture, in that it was opposed to worldly
wisdom and prudential policy. And the beloved disciple
mentions expressly their former cowardice, as if to prove
the greatness of their present courage. The sun had
gone down to his rest : and even now, at his setting,
the stars begin to come forth, and one or two become
visible. "Noi is their reward less marked than the devoted
piety of this good deed. They asked, and they received ;
they received no less than Christ's Body : they received
Him who is the salvation of the world, the germ of ever-
lasting life. It was Christ Himself; and the promise of
God to Abraham can alone express their happiness, —
" Fear not : I am thy exceeding great reward V

But every thing respecting our blessed Lord is impor-
tant, as containing great and mysterious principles of
truth, which will be found to prevail throughout the
world. And therefore we may reasonably ask, what is
signified by this circumstance, that, instead of our Lord's
being buried, as we might have expected, by His disciples
7 Gen. xv. 1.

THF. RICH IN HIS DEATH 387

or poorer friends from Galilee, these rich and honourable
men come forward at His death ; whereas no mention is
made of His receiving attention from them during His life
and sufferings. Perhaps the words of the prophet may in
some degree afford us a clue to the explanation ; for when
he speaks of His being '* with the rich in His death 8,"
he gives us a reason for it, "because He had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth." May
not this therefore indicate some great principle, which
was here shown in Christ, and will also be in His
members? May it not signify, that although accord-
ing to the pattern of Christ crucified, good men often
make "their grave with the wicked," dying the deaths
of malefactors, on account of the envy and hate oi
mankind in all ages of the world; yet, as meekness
and truth (that is to say, where there is " no violence "
and " no guile,") must in the end prevail, Providence
has so ordained it, that at their death the rich and great
come forth to do them honour. Those who before could
not but secretly reverence them, — being themselves, like
these two, "just and good" men, but from fear of the
world not openly confessing their principles, being dis-
ciples as it were in secret, as St. John says of these
two persons, — yet will come forth openly, when envy
has been abated by death. For as the Heathen Poet
observes, "We envy and hate virtue when safe among
us, but when taken from our eyes, we regret the loss."
Thus the Jews slew their Prophets, but afterwards adorned
their sepulchres. The good Christian must be hated by
the world, but his memory is blessed. Thus even now
the Kings and great of the earth do honour to those
good men of all ages who were themselves rejected arid
8 Isa. liii. 9.
cc 2

388 THE SEPULTURE

hated by the world, and died by the hands of the
executioner. The memory of no King is so deeply
cherished and revered, even to his very countenance,
as that one who died a Martyr on the scaffold. The
circumstance therefore here recorded in the narrative may
embody a great principle, extending to every age and
clime, as connected with the doctrine of Christ crucified.

THE BURIAL

THE Scriptures have described these two persons as taking
each his own separate part in these sacred ministrations.
Of " Joseph " it is said, "And having received the Body "
(Matt.) "and having purchased linen and taken Him
down" (Mark), or " taken it down" (Luke), "he folded"
(Matt., Luke), or " wrapped it in " (Mark) "pure " (Matt.)
" linen " (Matt., Mark, Luke). And of "Nicodemus" that
he " came bearing a mixture of myrrh and aloes about a
hundred pound weight " (John). And then of both
together, " Then took tliey the Body of Jesus, and wound
it in linen clothes with the spices " (John).

Blessed indeed were these persons, although rich in this
world ; and blessed beyond all things were these offerings,
the linen and the spices, that were allowed to touch that
most Holy Body in death. And as the vestments in
which our Lord died were the subject of sacred prophecy,
it were not unreasonable to suppose that these things, that
wrapped and enveloped that most holy Sacrifice, should
be hallowed to sacred association, both in Scripture and
nature. This we may reasonably suppose, though we
cannot venture to interpret them ; but it may not be a
presumptuous or unholy task, to mention some few

THE BURIAL 389

instances of analogy in which they occur. May not " the
linen," hallowed by this use, be the same substance which
is often spoken of for sacred purposes ; such as " the linen
garments of the Priests," so often distinctly specified, "the
linen ephod," " the linen breeches ;" " the linen girdle "
of Jeremiah 9, which was used as a sign to represent the
Church of Israel ] We may add, that in the Revelation
also 10 the Angels are " clothed in pure and white linen ;"
and the Church is clothed in the same, and that too, with
an emblematic and spiritual interpretation, for she is
" arrayed in fine linen, clean and white : for the fine linen
is the righteousness of Saints "." These expressions at
once connect it with the white Baptismal robe which is
the righteousness of Christ. It is remarkable, that when-
ever these holy coverings of our Lord's body are men-
tioned, they are never called " grave clothes," as in the
case of Lazarus ; but are thus spoken of as " the linen
clothes."

Thus we find that ancient writers not only mention the
analogy of this linen clothing, as connected with the
Church, which is Christ's Body, but also the spiritual
interpretations of mental purity, to which the figure
extends. St. Jerome says, " mystically Joseph bears the
appearance of Apostles, he wraps the body in clean linen ;
and indeed in the same, the sheet of linen, we find all
kinds of living creatures let down from Heaven to Peter ;
from which we understand, under the name of linen, that
the whole Church is buried together with Christ." And
St. Ambrose, " It was perhaps that which Peter beheld let
down from Heaven, in which were all kinds of four-footed
things and beasts and birds, exhibiting by a figure the
representation of the Gentiles." The same writer says of
» Jer. xiii. 1. '• Rev. xv. 6. » Rev. xix. 8.

390 THE SEPULTURE

Joseph and Nicodemus, "one was a just man, and the
other without guile. The one brought the linen clothes ;
the other the ointment. Nor is the distinction without a
purpose : justice clothes the Church ; innocence adminis-
ters grace V

In like manner, " the myrrh and aloes " may contain
sacred import, though we cannot venture to explain what
it may be. But we know, that in the gifts of the W^se
Men at our Lord's birth, the gold, the frankincense, and
the myrrh, the gold is considered to imply His Kingship,
and the frankincense His Divinity, and myrrh His
humanity. Now on this occasion the myrrh alone of
these is found : it is our Lord's humanity which is
embalmed. Moreover, if the Church is clothed in white
linen, so also is it said of her, that " all her garments
smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia2." "With reference to
which also myrrh is often spoken of in the Canticles ; and
that, too, in words which, speaking of the Church, might
also be applied to our Lord's human Person ; " A garden
enclosed is My sister, My spouse ; a spring shut up, a
fountain sealed . . . Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief
spices : a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters . . .
Awake, 0 north wind ; and come, thou south ; blow upon
My garden, that the spices thereof may flow out8." It is
remarkable that the Canticles, which use so much the
figure of earthly affection, speak more particularly of
Christ's grave 4. It is by mortification, by being dead and
buried with Christ, that we arrive at Divine affection.

Surely of all earthly and material things, none are so
worthy of our devout remembrance, as these which wrapt the
Body of the God of Heaven and earth, by whose word the

1 Expos, in Luc. x. 137. 2 Ps. xlv. 8.

3 Song of Solomon iv. 12. 14 — 16. 4 Sec Cyril, Lect. xir.

THE BURIAL 391

Heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath
of His mouth : that Sacrifice which as a sweet savour
sanctified earth and reconciled it to Heaven. As, more-
over, Holy Scripture passes from the figures and types to
the spiritual fulfilment, and connects the linen robe of the
Church with the righteousness of the saints, so also do
ancient Fathers. " According to the spiritual meaning,"
says St. Jerome, " we may understand this, that the Body
of the Lord is not to be wrapt in jewels, nor in gold, nor
in silk, but in pure linen ; although it may signify this
also, that lie wraps Jesus in clean linen, who shall have
received Him in a pure mind." And Theophylact in like
manner, " Let us also imitate Joseph, receiving the Body
of Christ through unity, and let us lay it in the monument
cut out of the rock, that is, in a soul that remembers and
forgets not God, for that is a soul cut out of the rock,
which is Christ. But Him we ought to wrap in linen,
that is, to receive in a pure body." In like manner with
these ancient writers Quesnel 6 says, " Happy that person
who receives the Body of Jesus Christ into a new and
clean heart, which has not been defiled by sin, and who
takes care to secure the door thereof against the spirit of
the world." And in his comment of St. Mark, he says,
" Whoever is dead to sin with Jesus Christ, ought, as it
were, to wrap up Christ in his heart, by preserving Him
therein with great care. To make his heart a living
sepulchre by the remembrance of Christ's death. And to
hew his sepulchre out of a rock, that is, to found and root
it in Christ by an unshaken faith."

But it is to be observed, that these circumstances of
" the linen and the spices," were not any thing peculiar to
the burial of our Lord, for St. John adds, "As the manner
6 On St. Matthew, chap, xxvii. CO.

392 THE SEPULTURE

of the Jews is to bury ; " as if it had been Divinely pro-
vided for, that the Jewish nation should ever have observed
this mode of burial, in order to do honour to our Lord's
Body ; enveloping it in the emblems of immortal purity
and immortal fragrance, as if to represent it as incapable
of corruption ; and thereby they themselves also, by this
mode of burial, served tacitly to express a sense of Kesur-
rection.

Indeed, the whole of the circumstances of our Lord's
burial seem to bring forth, in a strong point of view, the
many other places of Holy Scripture which sanction
respect paid to the mortal remains ; for when brought out
into light, by connexion with our Lord's history, they
appear to speak of His Resurrection, and the Kesurrection
of our bodies also. Thus, for instance, Holy Scripture
carefully records the burying of the Patriarchs, and parti-
cular circumstances connected with it ; as of Abraham's
purchase of the cave of Machpelah, as the Septuagint
translates it, " a double cave ;" the embalming and burying
of Jacob ; the carrying up of Joseph's bones to Canaan ;
the worst of curses pronounced on bad kings being, that
they should not come into the sepulchre of their fathers ;
and also on the disobedient prophet ; the piety of Eizpah
in protecting the bodies of Saul's sons ; and David's care
in burying the bones of Saul and Jonathan. Thus does
Holy Scripture raise, sanction, and hallow the feelings of
nature on that subject, those instinctive feelings which
have been shown by all nations, and vindicate us also in
doing honour to that which has* been the Temple of the
Holy Ghost, — that which has been brought into some
mysterious connexion with the flesh of Christ, and is to be
again restored. And this opinion derives confirmation
from the circumstances of our Saviour's conduct a few days

THE HOLY SEPULCHRE 393

previously, when He accepted and commended the good
deed done to Him, in the embalming of His head and feet,
assigning it as a reason that it had a reference to His
burial : as if this connexion with His burial gave an
especial sanctity to the deed. It is remarkable how much
Holy Scripture has recorded now, after His death, of the
bringing of spices, for the embalming of His body, by
three separate parties, Nicodemus, the two Marys, and the
other women from Galilee. It is also to be observed, that
God has caused all the four Evangelists particularly to
specify the good deed, and the full name of this person
who buried Christ in his own tomb, " Joseph of
Arimathea ;" as if in his case, also, as in that of Mary, the
sister of Martha, who embalmed Him, our Lord had com-
manded that, " wheresoever the Gospel shall be preached
in the whole world," there shall also this which " he " hath
done, " be told for a memorial " of him.

THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

" Now in the place" says St. John, " where He loos cruci-
fied there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre,
wherein was never man yet laid. There, therefore, on
account of the preparation of the Jews, since the sepulchre-
was nigh at hand, they lay Jesus." But as it was more
particularly the act of Joseph of Arimathea, the other
three Evangelists speak of it in the singular number.
"He laid Him " (Mark), or, " he laid it" (Matt., Luke)
" in a sepulchre " (Mark, Luke) " hewn in stone " (Luke) ;
it was " his own new sepulchre" (Matt.), " which ivas hewn
out of a rock" (Mark), " which he had hewn in the rock"
(Matt.), " wherein no man had been ever yet laid " (Luke).

394 THE SEPULTURE

He was laid in a new tomb, hewn out in a living rock,
for the Rock is ever put in Holy Scripture for heavenly
strength ; it is the appellation of God, of His Church,
and of His Christ. In a cleft of the rock did God place
Moses, and hide him therein with the shadow of His
hand. And to His own people, to whom Christ has
promised that, " together with " His " dead Body, shall
they arise," He says, as with reference to His own example,
" Come, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors
about thee : hide thyself as it were for a little moment,
until the indignation be overpast V

It was in a new sepulchre, — new, in that it was unlike
any that had received mortal remains before ; and new,
in that it was one in which no man had been yet laid ;
for it was the place for holy Angels, not for dead men's
bones ; and if the bones of His great type, Elisha, gave
life to the dead, much more would Christ's Body. Thus,
though He had humbled Himself to be born in a stable,
and through life to have no place wherein to lay His
adorable Head, yet in death did God honour Him. And
the grave had been hewn out and prepared for another, for
no grave was due to Christ, as He had not sinned. In
this rocky cave, therefore, in the inner chamber thereof,
from thenceforth to be a sacred chancel or shrine, the dead
Body of Christ was laid. While His spotless soul was
gone to hallow and bless, for the reception of those that
depart in the true faith of Him, that other and happier
garden of which this was the emblem — the Paradise of
the Dead.

Yet it was, indeed, in one respect, in His death as it
had been in His life, that the Son of Man had not where
to " lay His head." And to this effect is the remark of
R Isa. xxvi. 20.

THE HOLY SEPULCHRE 395

Theophylact : " Observe," he says, " the abundance of
that poverty which He had taken upon Himself for us :
for Ho who in life had no home, after death, also is laid
up in the sepulchre of another, and being naked is
covered by Joseph." But St. Augustin says T, " On that
account is the Saviour placed in the sepulchre of another,
because He died for the salvation of others. For what
could He have to do with a sepulchre, to whom death
could not properly belong ? What has He to do with a
tomb on the earth, whose seat was in Heaven ? What had
He to do with a sepulchre, who was only in the grave for
three days, not so much like one lying in death, as like
one resting in a bed ? " And St. Ambrose says, " Not
without a purpose has one Evangelist called it the new
sepulchre, and another, the sepulchre of Joseph, for a
tomb is prepared for those who are under the law of
death. The Conqueror of death hath no tomb of His
own. For what communication is there between God and
a tomb ? " St. Cyril also, of Alexandria, says, with great
beauty, that the new tomb in a garden signified, as it were
by a type, that " the death of Christ was to us the fore-
runner and beginning of our readmission into Paradise.
For by the death of Christ our death becomes new, and
is changed into a kind of sleep," — " a new kind of death,
which does not dissolve us into an endless destruction,
but brings on us a sleep full of good hope, after the
similitude of Him who hath made for us the new way,
that is, of Christ V And St. Ambrose makes a striking
observation on this subject, which will apply also to our
Lord's life in many points, " The Incarnation of the Lord
had every thing after the likeness of men, but this like-
ness was accompanied with a difference : He was born of
7 Serm. de Sabbat. Sancto. 8 Comm. in Joan.

396 THE SEPULTURE

a Virgin, with the similitude of birth, but dissimilitude
of conception. He cured the sick, but by a command.
John baptized with water, He with the Spirit9." To
which may be added, that He died like men, but with
the voluntary surrender of life : in His death He was
powerless as man is in death ; yet even in that death He
was mighty as God.

THE GREAT SABBATH

Now all these things were done in haste : it was not like
the full laying out and solemn embalming of the dead ;
for here Death was so soon to be overcome, that the good
intention was enough ; He that was sleeping in death was
so soon to awake, as a giant refreshed with sleep ; and to
come forth as a Bridegroom out of His chamber. The
reason of this was, St. John says, " on account of the
preparation ; " St. Luke mentions, " And that day was the
preparation, and the Sabbath drew on" They were
hastening on this account, but they knew not the reason
of their own haste ; for it was most needful, and decreed
before the foundation of the world, that our Blessed Lord
should rest for that day in the grave. It was not only
the Sabbath, but the great Sabbath, the Sabbath of the
Passover, the Sabbath of Sabbaths; and therefore, in
truth, "that Sabbath was an high day."

Now this is not only in itself a great mystery, but it
assists us also in solving, in some degree, a still greater
mystery ; though we are so familiar with the expression
of it, that we do not consider how much it is so. The
greater mystery I allude to is this : that the expression
9 Exp. in Luc. lib. x. 1 10.

THE GREAT SABBATH 397

which hallows the observance of the Sabbath, and which
is found, in connexion with it, throughout the Scriptures,
viz. that " God rested on " that day, is of itself full of
difficulty ; for it might be supposed, that attributing rest
to God is, of itself, incompatible with our notion of the
Deity ; for rest signified a cessation from labour or toil-
some suffering, and therefore He who is incapable of
labour or of suffering, is also incapable of rest. But the
circumstances attending our Lord's Incarnation, although
they cannot explain (for how can what is finite compre-
hend the infinite ?), yet in some measure account for it.
It is, in some sense, like other expressions in Holy Scrip-
ture, which attribute to Almighty God human parts,
affections, senses, and actions, whereby is shadowed forth
our Lord's becoming man, and binding Himself with the
bonds of human infirmity; becoming as one of us, in
order that we may become one with Him. Now, something
of this kind may be said of God's resting on the Sabbath-
day, which hallowed that seventh day to holy commemo-
ration in old time ; for, notwithstanding other mysterious
significations it may have contained, it was evidently
fulfilled in Christ, when He rested in the grave from His
suffering, and from His work that He had completed.

Thus, as Christ began His great Sabbath of rest in the
grave on this evening, when the Sabbath commenced, so
were we on this " day of preparation," and a little before
the Sabbath, born anew, and created from His side ; that
we might also begin our great Sabbath of devotion
together with Him, in anticipation of that heavenly
Sabbath which remaineth for the people of God. Allusion
has been before made to the opinion of Origen 10, that, as
two kinds of creatures were formed on the Friday, both
10 In Matt. 134.

398 THE SEPULTURE

animals and man, the animals were created on the fore-
noon of that day ; and afterwards, perhaps at the sixth
hour of that day, God said, " Let Us make man in Our
Image * ;" which time therefore would correspond with the
time of our Lord's dying on the Cross, and His Church
"being formed from His side. So that on the afternoon of
Friday, we were at first created : and at the same period
of the same day were redeemed and created anew in
Christ. On the seventh day God rested from the work of
Creation ; and on the same day Christ rested from the
work of Redemption in the grave. On Sunday God
created the light ; and on Sunday, Christ, the true Light
of the new Creation, came from the grave. That Sabbath
also, in which our Lord rested in the grave, is like our
whole condition throughout our stay in this world, wherein
we die to sin, and mortify the flesh, and are buried with
Christ, and wait for a new resurrection. But, as our Lord
said of the Sabbath, " My Father worketh hitherto, and I
work," notwithstanding the rest of that hallowed day ; so
also is it with this Sabbath, which is fulfilled in us ; for
our old man is laid at rest, and dead with Him in the
Sabbath, of the grave ; but we have also a new Sabbath,
wherein the new man is renewed daily in His likeness,
wherein He and the Father worketh. It is to us also the
Sabbath with regard to what is past; but it is not the
Sabbath with regard to that which is to come : inasmuch
as " there remaineth a rest for the people of God ;" and
therefore that rest is not yet attained.

» Gen. i. 26.

THE WOMEN FROM GALILEE 399

THE WOMEN FROM GALILEE

WE are perhaps inclined to entertain some degree of
surprise, at reading nothing of our Lord's disciples as
taking part in this scene. Perhaps we do not sufficiently
remember the extreme danger that it must have been to
them to have appeared, when their Lord underwent from
the hands of His enemies a death so terrible. But the
women could probably approach with less danger. How-
ever that may be, we find them here, as at the Cross, in
faithful attendance. Whether they or any of the disciples
had the privilege of touching His Holy Body, does not
appear ; though we should suppose that they must have
been earnest and watchful spectators of the scene. The
words of St. Luke, who alone mentions them, would lead
one to think that even the holy women were no more
than spectators. In his account we see them entering
into the inner chamber of the tomb, and taking their
leave of Him there. "And the women also" he says,
" which came with Him from Galilee followed after, and
beheld the sepulchre, and how His body was laid. And
they returned and prepared splices and ointments, and
rested the Sabbath-day according to the commandment"
And indeed their proceeding afterwards to procure spices
and to embalm Him, as soon as they were at liberty to do
so, would induce one to suppose that on this occasion they
had no share in that act of Nicodemus. All things seem
to indicate the great haste with which the burial took
place, on account of the Feast that was approaching ; and
partly for this reason the tomb seems to have been
selected, as convenient from its contiguity.

400 THE SEPULTURE

But as every expression in Holy Scripture is well
worthy of our interest and attention, we may consider
this designation of the women, " the women from Galilee."
Three Evangelists at the Crucifixion especially dwell on
the connexion of these faithful followers with the beloved
Galilee ; as, " They who in Galilee ministered unto Him,"
and " They who followed with Him from Galilee." And
this circumstance the more arrests our notice, as Galilee is
upon other occasions so pointedly dwelt upon, for what-
ever reasons it may be. Although most of the manifesta-
tions of our Lord after the Kesurrection, which are recorded,
take place at Jerusalem, yet it is Galilee that is especially
marked out as the appointed scene of our Lord's appear-
ance. There is much that we cannot account for in this
strong designation of Galilee. It is the place of our Lord's
own especial selection. As He approached the garden of
Gethsemane on the night of His passion, He spake of
Galilee and His appearing there : the Angels spake of the
same and of His appearing there, on the morning of His
Resurrection, although the persons addressed were to con-
tinue for the week in Jerusalem, and to see Him there.
The same mention of the humble Galilee is again made by
our Lord Himself. With some mysterious suitableness,
Galilee was marked as the spot from whence He should
commence the establishment of His Spiritual kingdom ;
as it had been the scene of His earthly abode and minis-
try. So that His kingdom was spoken of as " beginning
from Galilee to this place2:" and "The word which was
published throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee8."
There may indeed have been obvious reasons for our
Lord's selecting the retired Galilee, as the place where He
would more especially reveal Himself to His disciples,
* Luke xxiii. 5. * Acts x. 37.

THE WOMEN FROM GALILEE 401

and teach them the mysteries of His kingdom, from its
retired and obscure character ; for the same cause, that in
Jerusalem He appeared only to His faithful few, and that
in the twilight of the morning or evening, or when they
were assembled with closed doors, and at night. And it
may be but a part of His great system of Providence, that
to the few and despised, in solitary places, in darkness
and stillness, He reveals Himself in mercy ; to crowded
cities in judgment. But the thing to be at present noticed
is this, that Galilee thus brought near unto our Lord, was
the place of humility, and a name of scorn ; it was said
contemptuously, as a plea for His rejection, " Shall Christ
come out of Galilee?" And St. Peter was detected as
belonging to Christ because he was a Galilean : as if to be
a Galilean were in some measure to bear His Cross. Blessed
indeed was that poor country where our Lord was brought
up from childhood to manhood, where He lived, and
taught, and prayed. And the poor countrywomen, who
had come up for that Feast with Him, are more objects of
interest to us, than any other in this crowded town, de-
spised as they doubtless were by the Jews. These were
the women who now — overwhelmed with grief and fears,
but so overwhelmed with grief as to forget their fears —
were intently beholding " how our Lord's Body was laid "
in the cold and rocky sepulchre.

Now among these Galilean women there were two who,
for their earnest zeal and devotion to our Lord, were par-
ticularly worthy of notice, the two Marys. For St. Mark
mentions nothing of the other women, but specifies these
two, "And Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of
Joscs, beheld where He was laid." No mention now
occurs of the blessed Virgin. Holy Scripture has with-
drawn her from our view in an holy silence. These two

Dd

402 THE SEPULTURE

Marys were probably on this occasion in the cave, together
with the other women whom St. Luke mentions ; but yet
distinguishable from them in the greatness of their grief,
and perhaps from their habitual nearness to our Lord. At
all events, we soon find them together, in a most interest-
ing and affecting mention of them that occurs in St. Mat-
thew. And this was in fact but very similar to what we
find with regard to these two women at the Crucifixion ;
for then we first of all find them together with the other
women from Galilee, standing afar off4 ; and afterwards in
another Evangelist 6 separated from them, and at the foot
of the Cross. And so was it now ; for while the rest of
that company had now retired, as St. Luke mentions, to
prepare the spices before the setting in of the Sabbath, yet
these two seemed to have remained, as if too absorbed in
grief to prepare those things at that time ; for we read in
St. Matthew's narrative, after the closing of the sepulchre,
"And there was there Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre"

They are sitting there in the most blessed of all employ-
ments, in meditation on Christ's death; like that other
good Mary, who when others were busy in ministering on
Christ, sat listening to His words. "They learn," says
Quesnel, "being near the sepulchre, to hide themselves
from the world, and to be buried with Jesus Christ." The
star of evening had now come forth ; and the same is that
star which will appear earliest in the morning. "The
mother of Zebedee's children," says Origen, " is not spoken
of as sitting over against the sepulchre. She had perhaps
that faith that enabled her to go as far as the Cross. But
they, as if they were greater in love, were not wanting
even to these things that followed." But the mother of
4 Matt, xxvii. 56. Mark xv. 40. * John xix. 25.

THE WOMEN FROM GALILEE 403

Zebedee's children was not mentioned before with these
women at the foot of the Cross ; but with those that stood
afar off. And her retiring now might be accounted for
by the absence of the blessed Virgin herself, whom St.
John had probably taken to his own home; and that
home was probably the house of Salome, the wife of Zebe-
dee. But of the two Marys that continued at the grave,
St. Jerome says, " While the rest were leaving the Lord,
the women continued in their offices, as expecting what
Jesus had promised. And on this account they merited
to be the first to see the Eesurrection, for ' he that en-
dureth unto the end, the same shall be saved.' "

On this subject of the women there are many points of
inquiry which arise. How is it that none of these faithful
women are allowed to embalm our Lord ? His Body did
not need embalming, for it was of itself incapable of cor-
ruption : and therefore He allowed them to show their
good will, and accepted the good intention, but needed
not the embalming. And, indeed, this anointing for His
burial He had graciously accepted, six days before, of one
woman, the good Mary, the sister of Lazarus. And here
another question suggests itself, Where are the sisters
Mary and Martha ? how is it that there occurs no mention
of them ? Is it possible that tidings of these things had
not reached the village of Bethany ? or can this Mary be
the same as Mary Magdalene ? Or, who is this Mary
Magdalene, and what do we know of her ? This is indeed
a most interesting question, as every thing must be that
concerns either of these two women. It seems necessary
to say something on this subject.

404 THE SEPULTURE

MARY MAGDALENE

THERE liave been some who have considered that Mary Mag-
dalene is the same person as the sister of Lazarus under
another name ; but, on inquiry, we usually find that there
is no evidence to support this opinion, either in Holy
Scripture or among the early Fathers ; we are then, per-
haps, apt to dismiss the supposition altogether, as untena-
ble and erroneous ; and yet at length, on further thought,
there are some reasons which dispose one not altogether to
reject it. For although we cannot find sufficient authority
to support the opinion by direct evidence, yet, when we
have formed, unconsciously, a picture of Mary Magdalene
in our minds, we find that it extremely resembles that
which we have unconsciously been forming, at the same
time, of the sister of Lazarus. If any one, judging from
the circumstances recorded in the Gospels, were to give an
accurate description of what he supposed to be the cha-
racter of either of these, it would be, in great measure, a
character of the other also ; with this difference, perhaps,
that with Mary Magdalene we connect something more of
penitential sorrow ; with the other, that calmness of piety
which belongs to one that had always " chosen that good
part which shall not be taken away from her." And yet
perhaps it may be shown, that there is not sufficient reason
for even this supposed discrepancy, either in their histories
or their characters.

The few circumstances recorded of St. Mary Magdalene
are such as to excite in us an exceeding interest ; we be-
hold her standing among the nearest to our Saviour's
Cross, sitting the last at His grave at night, and coming
the first there in the early morning ; and, more than all,

MARY MAGDALENF. 405

the circumstances of our Lord's interview with her rivet
our strongest attention and emotions. So eminent among
those holy women for her devoted service ; and eminent,
even among those holy women, in the favour and accept-
ance of her Lord. Now, in the previous history, we have
circumstances recorded of an equal and similar interest in
Mary, the sister of Lazarus. The same attachment to our
Lord ; the same favour expressed towards her. And the
occasions on which they are mentioned, bring out the
same points of disposition in both. In both the same
calm, yet intense devotedness of character ; in both a dis-
position retiring and contemplative ; and yet in both, at
the same time, earnest and unshrinking. We have here
Mary Magdalene sitting by the sepulchre, and withdraw-
ing from the busier company of her friends, the Galilean
women, who had gone to prepare spices to do honour to
their Lord. We have, on another occasion, Mary, the
sister of Martha, sitting at Christ's feet to hear His in-
structions, and in so doing, separated from her more active
sister, who was busied in preparations to do honour to our
Lord, by receiving Him worthily. We have Mary Magda-
lene sitting in grief at His grave. We have the sister of
Martha sitting in grief in the house, mourning for her
brother Lazarus. Again, we have self-sacrifice and self-
devotion in both ; in Mary Magdalene, when she stood at
the foot of the Cross, in that most trying hour, aniids*
taunts and revilings, unmoved : in Mary, the sister of
Martha, when she seems to have sacrificed her livelihood
to embalm our Lord's Body with great cost, and that in
spite of the reproaches of the bystanders. In both a depth
of feeling, which would be considered contemplative ; and
yet, in both, it was combined with a most active energy.
Under circumstances of the same kind, they both come

406 THE SEPULTURE

forward to our notice by a development of a similar cha-
racter ; and yet the conduct of each of them, under those
circumstances, is different from that of others on the same
occasions. Thus, at the death of Lazarus, we read of
Mary, his sister, " but Mary sat still in the house," in the
position and character of a mourner ; but on our Lord's
coming, it is said, " as soon as she heard that, she arose
quickly." The earnest activity which marks this move-
ment, displays also, incidentally, the deep and strong
devotedness of her disposition ; for the Jews, who knew
her, concluded she had gone to sit at the grave, as an
action naturally expected of her character and affections,
supposing that she was going to act as we find Mary Mag-
dalene now doing. "The Jews therefore, which were
with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw
Mary, that she rose up hastily, and went out, followed
her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there."
Now, let this account be compared with that of Mary
Magdalene on our Lord's death : the one, as we observed,
sat still in the house, mourning ; the other now sits still
at the grave, mourning. But from that posture the former
arose hastily on hearing of our Lord. And Mary Magda-
lene is the first, on Sunday morning, before the break of
day, to hasten to embalm our Lord ; and, again, there is
the same active intensity shown, when, on perceiving in
the twilight that the stone was removed, she hastened to
inform the disciples, anticipating even her companions,
who waited after her at the place, and saw the AngeL
Again, when they come into the presence of our Lord
Himself, there is something very similar in the character
displayed by both of them ; and yet not similar to any
thing mentioned of any other of our Lord's followers. At
the grave of Lazarus we read, "When Mary was come

MARY MAGDALENE 407

where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet,
saying unto Him, Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my
brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her
weeping ... He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled '."
At the sepulchre of our Lord, and Mary Magdalene's in-
terview with Him, we read, " Mary stood without at the
sepulchre weeping ; " and the Angels " say unto her, Why
weepest thou ? " Soon afterwards our Lord says unto her,
" Woman, why weepest thou ? " The words that follow
are few, but in the highest degree expressive, and set
before us, in vivid colours, the person of Mary Magdalene,
when she acknowledges our Lord by the single word
" Rabboni ! " and our Lord replies to her, " Touch Me
not7." Words, doubtless, mysteriously and divinely in-
tended to support the human weakness of her nature ; but,
at the same time, indicative of some action of intense de-
votedness and adoration in her. Throughout this touching
scene we cannot help imagining that we see the same per-
son again at our Lord's feet, who was weeping at His feet
at the grave of Lazarus, when He was troubled and wept
at the sight. There is in both a singular forgetfulness oi
self; the same intense but deep and calm affection of
Divine Love.

To these points of identity in character may be added
the remarkable fact of there being no mention made of
Mary, the sister of Martha, at our Lord's Death, and Ee-
surrection. It might indeed be alleged, that neither of
her sister Martha is any thing recorded at this time, and
that we should expect to find them in conjunction witli
each other. This is certainly an argument against the
supposition we are supporting, but not altogether a con-
clusive one. For on other occasions we find Mary, in her
• John xi. 32, 33. 7 John xx. 17.

408 THE SEPULTURE

conduct and actions, separated from her sister, on account
of a marked difference of character. And this difference
would be more strongly drawn out under these more try-
ing circumstances. It would be the same conduct repeated :
when Martha was busied about serving, Mary sat listening
to our Lord : now also Martha was preparing spices, Mary
sat watching. Mary Magdalene is not indeed sitting by
herself ; but the earnest devotedness of Mary would have
knit and combined her, during this trial, with those per-
sons in whom she would find the strongest sympathy in
her affliction, or congeniality of feeling.

There still remains the question, if these descriptions
are of one and the same person, why are there distinct
appellations usually applied to them? But this would not
be the only case of the kind in Scripture ; as there occurs
no distinct intimation that Nathanael and Bartholomew are
but different names for the same individual, as we reason-
ably conclude that they are. If Mary Magdalene was a
widow, and belonged to or possessed a place called Magdala,
in Galilee, by marriage, she might have been generally
known under that title, excepting when in the house of,
or spoken in connexion with, Lazarus and her sister at
Bethany. And it may be also noticed that St. Matthew,
St. Mark (i. e. perhaps St. Peter), and St. John, who
speak mostly of her, and under the title of Mary Magda-
lene, would naturally have known her by that name, as
men of Galilee. St. Luke speaks of her under this title,
not as a familiar appellative, but as a person " so called."
He also mentions her as the person " out of whom went
seven devils," which is the designation of a stranger ; and
so likewise is that other term, when he speaks of her as
one " who ministered unto our Lord in Galilee."

One would indeed be glad to think that there should

MARY MAGDALE.VR 409

have been two such persons : for it is certain that the
sister of Lazarus had given herself up to the one thing
which is needful with singleness of heart ; and also that
Mary Magdalene was a person of most fervent piety.
Theophylact observes, that although the Evangelists men-
tion different women, " yet they all speak of Mary Mag-
dalene on account of her fervent affection." And St.
Augustiii says of her *, " That Mary Magdalene came with-
out doubt, as being much more fervent in affection than
the rest of the women which ministered unto the Lord :
so that not undeservedly John makes mention of her,
while he says nothing of those who came with her, as the
others testify."

There is also another question respecting the identity
of Mary Magdalene, of not much less interest and of equal
difficulty with the former ; whether she is the same person
who anointed our Lord's feet, at an early period of His
ministry in Galilee, and who is designated by St. Luke as
"a woman who was a sinner." We find that divines in
our own and other countries, about the time of the Refor-
mation, and indeed for many centuries preceding, generally
agree in considering that St. Mary Magdalene is the per-
son here spoken of; alluding to it, in devotional books
and hymns, as a point they had never questioned. But,
on inquiry, we find that there is no intimation of this
being the case, either in Holy Scripture or among the
early Fathers : and although it has been a received opinion
in the Roman Catholic Church, yet it is supposed that it
owed its origin to nothing more than a fabulous legend,
purported to have been written by a servant of Martha,
the sister of Lazarus. For these reasons the supposition
has been by some entirely neglected as erroneous ; and
8 De Coiisonsu Evang. lib. iii. c. 24.

THE SEPULTURE

certainly it must be considered incapable of proof. In the
Eoman Breviaries it is implied, in the services, hymns,
and the like, that they were the same person ; yet any
supposition of this kind appears to have been carefully
excluded from the Parisian. And although " the sinner,"
in the 7th chapter of St. Luke, is designated Mary Mag-
dalene, in the heading to the chapter in our English
Bibles ; yet the service in honour of St. Mary Magdalene,
which found a place in the first book of Edward, and
contained this supposition, has been subsequently excluded
from our Prayer Book, on account of the difficulty in
which this point is involved. In the celebrated hymn,
the " Dies irae," Mary Magdalene is spoken of under this
character, "Qui Mariam absolvisti;" evidently implying
that Mary was " the sinner " who was forgiven : but, as if
in consequence of the doubt, another reading is found sub-
stituted for it, where "the sinner" alone is mentioned,
" Qui peccatricem absolvisti."

Now this case of doubt, whether St. Mary Magdalene
was or was not " the sinner" spoken of by St. Luke, comes
to us very much under the same questionable circum-
stances as the former case, whether St. Mary Magdalene
is the same as the sister of Martha. And here again, as
in the former instance, we are perhaps inclined too hastily
to reject the opinion of their being the same, on finding
that the case is not capable of satisfactory proof : for such
is the natural tendency of a speculating and unbelieving
age, to believe too little for fear of believing too much.
It may, therefore, be desirable to state a few points to be
considered in favour of that opinion, which has come down
to us by a vague traditionary rumour.

With regard to the opinions of early writers, if there
is none in favour of this supposition, yet there appears

MARY MAGDALENE 411

no distinct evidence to the contrary. Origen, Ambrose,
Chrysostom, Augustin. and others, do not appear to have
had any clear notion of who these women were, beyond
that of their own conjectures. St. Ambrose 9 suggests that
there might have been more than one Mary Magdalene ;
Origen, that there were three distinct cases of anointing
by distinct women ; St. Chrysostom at one time, I think,
seems to suppose them all the same ; at another time as
distinctly that they were not. Tertullian considers that
the same person is spoken of. All of which proves that
there was no consent or traditionary opinion on the sub-
ject. Bede speaks of Mary Magdalene as the sister of
Lazarus ; Thomas a Kempis likewise considers her the
same ; and also designates her as " the sinner " who was
forgiven much. Gregory l speaks of Mary Magdalene as
" the sinner, who by loving the truth had washed with
tears the stains of crime ; whose mind the great power of
love had inflamed ; who retired not from the sepulchre of
the Lord when even disciples retired." But St. Augustin
says expressly that he thinks that Mary, the sister of
Lazarus, who anointed our Lord at Bethany, was the
same person whom St. Luke records as " the sinner " who
anointed Him in the house of Simon the Pharisee. The
reason he gives for this does not indeed appear at first
sight satisfactory : it is this, that before the anointing took
place at Bethany, at the time when Lazarus was raised
from the dead, St. John speaks of her as the person who
had anointed our Lord, and wiped His feet with the hair
of her head*. For, in answer to this argument of St.
Austin's, it might be said that St. John thus designates
her, not by an action which had at that time taken place,

9 Exp. in Luc. lib. x. 153. l In Hoin. xxiii.

» John xi. 2. See Ministry, 3rd Year, p. 249.

412 THE SEPULTURE

viz. at the raising of Lazarus, but by an action for which
she was afterwards known. But still the expression of
her " wiping His feet with her hair," although St. John
mentions " His feet " in the anointing at Bethany, whereas
the other two Evangelists only speak of her anointing
" Hi a head ;" yet this circumstance itself seems more cha-
racteristic of the action in St. Luke than it is of the later
one at Bethany. The action of wiping His feet with her
hair is in itself so beautiful and so extraordinary, that we
feel a love and desire to connect it for ever with the same
person : it was an action that could not have been done
by a second person from imitation, and would scarce
have spontaneously occurred to two different persons. But
when we consider both of these anointings to have been
by one and the same individual, the change that takes
place in the action, that she who once anointed Christ's
feet only, should now, after many expressions of His
favour and approbation, venture to combine the Head also
in that deed of honour, is most touchingly significative ;
expressive of her improved condition, of her higher ac-
ceptance, and of her overflowing gratitude for the same.
Now this new case of question appears indeed greatly to
increase the difficulty of the former ; for many would be
inclined to allow the former, that St. Mary Magdalene
may be no other than Mary the sister of Martha ; and
many also would be disposed to take it for granted, that
St. Mary Magdalene was "the sinner" we are speaking of.
But most persons would be very loth to suppose that the
good sister of Martha should have been " the sinner "
described by St. Luke.

Our natural repugnance from adopting this opinion
arises from this, that we cannot suppose, that a person
who had been known as "a sinner," should have been

MARY MAGDALENE 413

admitted into such friendly intercourse and intimacy with
our Lord, as to have been in constant attendance on Him,
without calling forth the animadversion a of His enemies ;
that of such a person, we could hardly have thought that
our Lord would have declared, that she " had chosen the
good part ;" and that the holy and meritorious deed at
Bethany of such a person should have been honoured be-
yond all things in the world, with an immortal memorial
in His Church. But these objections are by no means
insurmountable. In the first place, with regard to the
term " sinner," by which she is opprobriously designated
by the proud Pharisee ; it by no means follows, that this
implies that she was a person of bad character : the term
sinner is applied in the Gospels to all who had intercourse
with the Gentiles. Dr. Hammond, although he thinks
this person was not Mary Magdalene, yet thinks the term
does not imply one of loose character. But let it be
granted, that our Lord Himself says, that " her sins are
many." Or even let it be supposed, that the term was
applied to her in the worst sense, and that she had fallen
into some notorious sin ; those are not the worst persons
who may have fallen into the greatest crime : and to re-
pent and recover after such, indicates a very extraordinary
piety and strength of principle, as in the case of David.
But however this may be, whatever she might have done
in her past life, she must have been even at this very time
a very good person, and by no means hardened by sin ;
for faith and love it is which proves the state of the heart :
these mark our acceptance with God, we are good and bad
in His sight according to the degree of faith and love that
we have ; and we have our Lord's testimony, that she had
even at this time both of these ; for He says, that she
" loved much ;" and her faith was great, for she believed

414 THE SEPULTURE

that Christ could forgive sins. And our Lord's own de-
claration of peace to her, when He said " go in peace,"
was surely abundantly able to bestow that peace which it
pronounced, and might well have conferred that calm de-
votion of the sister of Martha, when she sat at His feet.
Such a person now, after the expiration of two years, might
have rendered herself worthy of a higher expression than
that of her sins being forgiven 8, even of our Lord's sanc-
tion, that she had chosen that which she should never lose.
One who at the commencement of our Lord's ministry had
received that absolution, " thy sins are forgiven thee, go
in peace," might, after faithfully attending on Him for
three years, when she repeated a similar action at its
close, have been received by the higher terms of approba-
tion, as one who had done a good deed which should be
spoken of in all the world 4.

But still after all that can be said, we must be content
to leave both points in doubt ; — whether St. Mary Mag-
dalene is the same person as that good Mary, the sister of
Lazarus, who anointed the Lord's head at the house of
Simon the leper, on the Saturday previous to the Cruci-
fixion, as St. Matthew and St. Mark record ; and His feet
also at the same time, as St. John mentions. And again,
whether this Mary, the sister of Martha and also called
Mary Magdalene, is the same as that sinner, mentioned by
St. Luke, who early in our Lord's ministry anointed His
feet at the house of Simon the Pharisee in Galilee. But
we are on the whole inclined to think they possibly may
be the same person, under different designations, from
similarity and almost sameness of character, shown in the
events recorded, between Mary Magdalene and the sister
of Martha : and in the latter case, because it seems safei
* Luke vii. 48. 4 Matt. xxvi. 13. Mark xiv. 9.

CHRIST IN THE GRAVE 415

and more the part of piety to adopt than to reject a tra-
ditionary belief of good men, although incapable of proof.
If indeed the whole be but the history of one and the
same individual, it affords a beautiful instance of conver-
sion, commencing in penitential grief which "loved much,"
matured in that devotion, which had made a full choice of
" the good part," and confirmed in perfect love ; which
from being conformed to the death of Christ, came to
know "the power of His Resurrection," and is led on
by Him, in purified affection, to ascend with Him to
Heaven 6.

CHRIST IN THE GRAVE

THE scene therefore which we have before us, is the fol-
lowing. Our Lord was now laid in the sepulchre, and
the entrance into the cave was again closed up. Joseph
of Arimathea " had rolled a (great " Matt.) " stone to the
door of the sepulchre" (Matt., Mark), thus shutting up
the grave, "and departed" (Matt.). The sun had now

5 The point however is so difficult to decide conclusively, that
even the same person will probably think differently at different
times. At one time, in contemplating them, they appear all to
blend in one person and character, as they have been here de-
scribed ; at another time we seem to have a distinct apprehension
of each, as not only different individuals, but as differing in dis-
position and circumstancca. Mary, the sister of Martha, appears
marked by a calm and holy tranquillity ; St. Mary Magdalene by
something of a self-abandoning intense devotedness ; these traits
indicate difference of character. And again, in St. Mary Magda-
lene we see a person evidently thought highly of by the Jews, and
perhaps in some degree wealthy; "the sinner" in St. Lnko doe§
not appear to have been so esteemed by them. — Second Edition.

416 THE SEPULTURE

resumed more or less of his wonted light, and was setting
over the guilty Jerusalem ; the uproar of the morning was
changed into the stillness of the grave, and the sacred
silence of the Sahhath had "begun. In this now hallowed
garden, the stir of the hurried funeral had given place to
solitude ; the Apostles had retired, and the "beloved disciple
had probahly taken the blessed Virgin to his own home.
And the women from Galilee, including Joanna, the wife
of Herod's steward, perhaps Salome, and others, having in
haste made preparations for the subsequent embalming,
had retired for the rest of the Sabbath. But " bound to
Him," says Bede, "by a closer affection," on a spot oppo-
site to the rocky sepulchre, Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary were sitting. Sitting is in that country the posture
of mourners. Here, in the silence of this scene, they
could recollect themselves a little, and mourn; for how
many events had occurred since that time on the preceding
evening ! In the stillness of the scene might they look
on the bloody city ; — " How doth the city sit solitary, that
was full of people ! how is she become a widow ! " " from
the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed6."
" Eighteousness lodged in it, but now murderers V

But these holy women had no thought and no eyes for
that city, which was lying under the wrath of God ; for
that grave, by which they sat, absorbed all their thoughts ;
their hearts were with Him, who was now hid there from
their eyes. The greatness of their sorrow had for a while
been mitigated, by thoughts of the stillness and ease of
death, which had succeeded to His agonies ; but the full
sense of their bereavement was now becoming felt, in that
unspeakable stillness and dread calm which accompanies
death.

• Lam. i. 1. «. * Isa. i. 21.

CHRIST IN THE GRAVE 417

At length the worst is o'er, and Thou art laid

Deep in Thy darksome bed ;
All still and cold beneath yon dreary stone,

Thy sacred Form is gone.

Around those lips -where power and mercy hung,

The dews of death have clung ;
The dull earth o'er Thee, and Thy foes around,
Thou sleep'st a silent corse in funeral fetters wound.

Although we can ascertain so little who this Mary Magda-
lene was, yet we know she had been deeply afflicted ; she
is known as the one, out of whom went seven devils : she
had been taught in affliction, the school of Christ ; and
by Him been delivered from her afflictions : well therefore
may we conclude, that her heart was within that cold
stone, wherein that sacred Body was laid. He whom she
had adored as her Lord and God ; had reverenced as her
Deliverer ; had loved as her Instructor and Guide : He, in
Whose Divine Power and the ineffable sense of Whose
Godhead she had found refuge, was now stiff and lifeless
in the grave. " Thou art in the clefts of the rock, in the
secret places of the stairs, let me see Thy countenance, let
me hear Thy voice'." That which was a few hours since
the lamentation of our Lord, His faithful follower may
now take up and say, "Is it nothing to you, all ye that
pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like
unto my sorrow V What spot in all the world is suited
for affliction and for penitence more than this? What
place is there, to which their eyes can turn, but is hallowed
by the recollections of Him, of His Holy teaching and
His miracles, by associations of His Divine actions and
words'? What place is not marked with the violence
and hatred of His enemies, and His undeserved suffering ?
8 Song of Solomon ii. 14. ' Lam. i. 12.

E e

418 THE SEPULTURE

But every thought of the malice of others is lost in the
thoughts of Himself and of themselves. For He would
Aever allow them to think of others and of their misdeeds ;
but by TTia unspeakable holiness ever induced men to
think of their own sins ; and therefore all thought of Him
was connected with repentance.

But in contemplating the persons and characters of
these our Lord's faithful followers, we have passed from
the reflection of Him self; so weak and feeble is our
nature, that we cannot dwell on the sacred vesture that
enshrouds Him, nor the beloved companions of His earthly
pilgrimage, nor the Angels that do His will and encircle
His throne ; but that we forget Him, for whose sake alone
these were objects of interest to us j we weigh His words,
and are wrapt around by their incomprehensible, but all-
comprehending power and meaning, and forget Him that
speaks. We look on the tomb that encloses Him, and
while we look, we forget Him that is enclosed there.
Where else shall we go but to Thee in Thy life? and
where else in Thy death shall we go but to Thee 1

That great stone hath hidden Thee from the world, and
hath hidden Thee from our eyes. But where our treasure
is, there will our heart be also. If our heart be in Thy
tomb, then shall faith remove that great stone, and admit
us to be with Thee ; and shall shut out with that rocky
door the guilty world which hath brought Thee to this.
Faith shall enter into that holy darkness and silence, where
Thy lifeless body is laid on the cold ground. That stone
shall not shut out the sinner from Thee j but that stone
shall shut him in with Thee from that world, which hath
shed Thy innocent blood. For to be with Thee is ever
blessed ; to be with Thee in Thy life, and to watch Thy
footsteps ; and it is blessed to be with Thee in Thy dying ;

CHRIST IN THE GRAVE 419

and to be with Thee in the grave is blessed, and maketh
blessed. Surely it is to be with Thee in this Thy grave
that Thou hast invited us in, saying, " Come, My people,
enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about
thee : hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until
the indignation be overpast 10."

For what place is there more meet for a sinner than
this ? and where else shall he meet his God but in this
place ? Lifeless Thou art now and cold, as the rock that
encloses Thee, and on which Thy reclining head is laid ;
and pale indeed is Thy body, which at every pore hath
opened an outlet for Thy life-blood, for our sakes ; from
Thy hands and from Thy feet, and from Thy mangled
back, and from Thy pierced head, and from Thy wounded
side, it hath opened its many doors, from all of which Thy
overflowing Love hath poured itself forth in blood, and
hath left Thee pale and bloodless indeed. And wrapped
around in Thy sacred swaddling clothes of death, all Thy
holy Form hath gone, and no vestige nor lineament re-
mains; and even the Son of Man, which Thou hast
become for our sakes, appeareth no more.

Thou who art the Maker and Preserver of Heaven and
earth, Thou who hast Thy habitation in eternity, in bliss
inconceivable, and unutterable glory, hast laid all aside to
become this for me. And yet am I colder and harder than
that rock, on which Thy body is laid; for these rocks
were rent at Thy dying ; but I have watched Thy dying,
and step by step followed Thee from Gethsemane unto this
Thy cold tomb, but my heart is not rent; and yet all
this hath been, all this is for me : but I am not moved ;
and on me fall the drops of Thy blood, and the cold sweat
of Thy death, even as on that rock : but I am not moved
i0 Isa. xx vi. 20.

4:20 THE SEPULTURE

And yet in what other place could I — who bear about
me my deep and heavy sins — in what place could I meet
Thee more suitably than in this ? JSicodemus came to
Thee from fear, under the covering of the night, and I
dare only under that same covering to approach Thee : but
he, in his guiltless simplicity, could endure Thine all-
knowing and all-healing look, but I dare not : and though
I must come to Thee, or else I die; I would fain cover
myself with the night, and so approach Thee.

Where else could a sinner meet Thee so suitably as in
this place ? It is said that a cold rock was the place of
Thy birth ; and in a rock also is Thy tomb. But this Thy
last abode is in some sense more suitable to a sinner, than
that stable and manger wherein Thou receivedst Thy first
friends on earth : for that was indeed a season of gladness,
and they that came from the distant East, and the shep-
herds with whom Angels had associated, and the innocent
animals that were in that lowly shed, were company more
meet for that glad occasion of Thy birth, than that sinner
who hath been baptized in Thy blood, and yet hath cruci-
fied Thee afresh. For there in Thy holy childhood Thou
seemest to invite children around Thee ; and children were
more meet for Thy temple than such as grow old in forget-
fulness of Thee ; for in Thy Temple was the holy Samuel
as a child : and in Thine own Temple did the children
meet Thee to welcome Thee ; and little children didst Thou
draw to Thee, and take up in Thine arms, and invite them
lovingly to Thine unrestrained embrace ; but to the double-
minded sinner didst Thou turn to admonish him of the
never-dying worm ; and of forsaking all that he hath, and
of taking up the Cross daily ; setting him afar from Thee
even in the greatness of Thy love ; and then encompassing
him most with the arms of Thy mercy, when Thou puttest

CHRIST IN THE GRAVE 421

him afar oil', lost, unworthily, ho should draw too near to
Thcc and die. Thy birth-place, therefore, is the meet
resort for innocence ; but Thy tomb is the hiding-place for
the sinner : here may he find refuge who is all over putre-
fying sores, and hath no whole part in his body : here may
he kneel by the cold stone on which Thou art laid.

This Thy dark and cold and silent bed would invite to
Thee a sinner whose heart, like Thy grave, is dark and
cold, and who must be silent before Thee ; for how could
he venture to look on Thy living countenance ? Where
else could he so suitably approach Thee ? Not at the full
daylight of that feast, where that " sinner " approached
Thy feet of old ; where it was perhaps this Thy afflicted
Magdalene who brought to Thee the first-fruits of her
repentance. .For she had doubtless heard Thee in Thy
gracious teaching, and she lingered not in her old paths,
but bewailed in secret, and Thy "Word received into the
good heart brought forth fruit, and she hath brought this
basket, "the first-fruits of the land Thou hast given"
her *, and memorials of deliverance from death a ; for she
" loved much," and believed much, and these fruits of love
which she brought were most acceptable unto Thee ;
though indeed they were none else than her silence and
her tears. That ointment itself implied the fragrance of
her love, which defied all cost ; and the abundance of her
tears showed the depth and earnestness of her penitence :
and when she wiped Thy sacred feet with the hairs of her
head, the greatness of that humiliation was the robe that
became her in Thy presence. But the sinner who would
now approach Thee in the tomb is like that cold and
proud Pharisee there, who, owing much, thought he owed
but little ; for his heart is dry and desolate, and he hath
1 Deut. xxvi, 4. 10. 3 Ibid. 5.

422 Tff£ SEPULTURE

no tears for Thy feet ; and if aught could again move him
to tears, it were this feeling of his want of tears. He
hath no sweet ointment of love to hring Thee, and were
he to attempt such an offering, his own pride is like the
dead fly 8 within it — that maketh the sweetest ointment
unsavoury to Thee. And he hath no first-fruits to bear
Thee, for " the good land Thou gavest " him hath become
a desolate wilderness, and a place of unclean things ; but
in this desert and wilderness of his injured affections he
would approach unto Thee, who art the Eock which was
smitten in the desert, that he might drink of that water
that goeth from Thee, and replenish the dried fountain of
his tears.

"Where else so well as in this grave shall he venture to
approach Thee ? Shall he go to Thee in that holy home
of Bethany, and sit at Thy feet with that holy Mary who
had chosen the good part 1 That sacred family were no
place for him ; and how could he bear to stand before that
living look of Thine which readeth all things 1 In that
house Lazarus, whom Thou hadst raised from the dead,
there sat at the table with Thee ; but what if raised by
Thee, he had again turned away from Thee, and forgotten
Thee his Deliverer ? How could one be among that com-
pany of Thy disciples and Thy friends, who hath so long
set Thee at nought ? For they that were with Thee, and
shared Thy toils, and witnessed Thy miracles, were in some
sense worthy of Thee and of that approach : and if their
holiness is not as Thine, neither are their charities as
Thine, that I should be admitted to be there, in that holy
company. But here in this rock would one draw near to
Thee, whose heart is indeed as the stone on which Thou
art laid : but be Thou laid also in his stony heart ; and
8 Eccles. x. 1.

CHRIST IN THE GRAVE 423

Thou who hast such power oven in Thy death and in Thy
grave, mayest break and rend even this his stony heart ;
and be even Thyself revealed therein, Who art that hidden
man of the heart that knoweth not corruption 4.

The stillness of this Thy tomb is, in some respects, a
fitter abode for us even than that scene which is passed ;
fitter even than that hour of Thine agony ; for in the
calmness of this change we recognize more distinctly, and
apprehend the end of all things, and that latter end of
Thee, and of ourselves, which teacheth wisdom. It is
better for us to be here, in some measure, even than in
that scene in which I have attempted to follow Thee : for
there, when I was noticing at every step the greatness of
the mystery, and of the power which ordered all things,
even in gazing on Thee, I seemed, for a while, to have for-
gotten that Thou wert suffering, and I a sinner ; and when
I " compared things spiritual," and perceived therein more
and more Thy Divine power which could have broken Thy
bonds, and which, in Thy weakness, was ever the most
discernible, — in the wonder of those contemplations my
deceitful heart hath again beguiled me, and brought on
me, even in gazing on Thee, and even, I might almost say;
while lamenting my sins, — brought on me a fresh occasion
of sin ; and the very greatness of Thy love, which came
down from Heaven, and restrained Thy almighty strength,
bringing it down unto the weakness of a babe, hath but
cooled my love towards Thee. For when I numbered the
type and prophecy and figure wherein Thy Divine power
was manifest ; and weighed Thy deep words, and numbered
Thy stripes, and paused on Thy steps, the very pursuit
itself hath beguiled me : and when I called the good of all
ages to be the witnesses of Thy sorrows, and to unfold the
* 1 Pet. iii. 4.

424 THE SEPULTURE

number of Thy mysteries, I myself gazed on Thee with a
barren wonder ; and, forgetting myself to be a sinner, and
to be the cause of all these Thy sufferings, my study of Thy
passion hath become to me itself a fresh occasion of sin.

"Are these things true, 0 my God, which I hear of
Thine enduring with such long-suffering, and behold Thee
sustaining with such love 1 If they are true, why do I
not tremble all over, and burn with love and with grief?
I grieve over Thee, 0 gracious Jesus, I grieve also on that
account the more, that I — who am but dust and ashes,
and, what is worse than these, a sinner (what a sinner
and how great a sinner Thou knowest) — that I should
behold Thee enduring such great sufferings, and that with
this my stony heart I feel not these things as I ought to
feel them6."

Here it is no more — that " visage which was so marred "
with contumelies, nor that Form which was without
" beauty or comeliness " in human eyes : but Thou art
become, for our sakes, even no form at all, even, as it were,
" without form, and void," indistinguishable even as human
shape, and as the dead clod of the valley, wrapped up and
laid aside as one unfit to abide with men, and to see the
light. Is it to this Thou hast come for my sake, 0 my
God 1 Is it to this Thou hast descended from the throne
of Thy glory?

But it is Thine own — Thine own most sacred Body still,
and by its apparent helplessness and repose it invites a
wretched sinner to approach Thee, and to put his trust in
Thee. It was thus when Thou wert laid asleep " on a
pillow " in the boat, and thereby leading Thy weak dis-
ciples to have confidence in Thee : and even then, in Thy
sleep, Thy power was present to help them ; and Thou
& Via Vitse

CHRIST IN THE GRAVE 425

didst rebuke the weakness of their faith, that doubted the
efficacy of Thy presence even in sleep. And if the bones
of Thy prophet Elisha ' had such power as to restore even
an enemy to life, Thou givest hope even to me, Thine
enemy, whose second life in Thee hath become, as it were,
but " dry bones, very dry V For by assuming this form
of weakness Thou dost invite the unclean sinner to ap-
proach Thee, and layest aside not Thy Godhead only, but
thy Manhood also, if I may so venture to say, and Thy
human power, that Thou mightest thus allure him to Thee.
And wert Thou alive, and I before Thee, I might have
doubted of that forgiveness which could equal the height
and depth and length and breadth of my sins ; even did
Thine own gracious lips pronounce my pardon ; but these
Thy many wounds, and Thy reclining head and motionless
body, are the tokens to me of my pardon, and the seal of
my hopes : for I see therein the height and depth, the
length and breadth of Thy love.

Here would I approach Thee, and kneel down at the
stony bed which sustains Thee, as at a holy altar, and there
will weep ; and press my lips on that which wraps Thy
sacred feet, and water it with these my tears. And if too
hardened to mourn for any thing else, yet will I weep to
think of the fickleness of these my tears, and the little
stability of this my sorrow. Yea, it is Thine own gracious
Self which hath humbled Thee to this, that one so unholy
should approach Thee even in death : and if Thy saints
are not around Thee to repel one of unclean lips from
drawing so near to Thee, yet I know that the holy Angels
are there, and that they are mourning at this sad sight ;
for it is said8, " The Angels of peace shall weep for Thee."

• 2 Kings xiii. 21. * Ezek. xxxvii. 2.

8 Isa. zxziii. 7 ; LXX version.

THE SEPULTURE

"And one shall say, What are these wounds in Thine
hands ? " and another shall answer for Thee, " Those with
which I was wounded in the house of My friends9."
Well then might they in their grief repel an unclean man,
one of these whom Thou hast called Thy friends : one
who hath caused Thee all these Thy sorrows, and who
inflicted this death and these wounds on the Lord of life.
But Thou hast given them, Thine Angels, to feel as Thou
dost ; Thou hast given them for Thy sake to partake of
that love which led Thee to endure such things for us ;
and they for the love of Thee love us also because Thou
lovest us, and for Thy sake will rejoice over any one that
will come unto this Thy grave, to confess his sins unto
Thee.

THE SINNER BURIED WITH CHRIST

HERE may one who hath crucified Thee afresh, and is
indeed the chief beyond all — the very chiefest of sinners
— here may he venture to draw nigh to Thee : for how
can he dare to meet Thy pitying and reproving eye which
is conscious of his inmost thoughts and most secret sins ?
In this sepulchre, as at an holy altar, may he find refuge
from those accusing thoughts that pursue him : that follow
after him like clamorous dogs, and come about him like
bees with their stings. In this chamber would I com-
mune with myself, and be still. If I would hide me from
the eye of day, and cover me with the mantle of night
that is abroad, yet even there are Thy many witnesses ;
and if I go forth, the very stars in the firmament over-
whelm me with dismay, when in their silent watches they
9 Zech. xiii. 6.

THB SINNER BURIED WITH CHRIST 427

speak of Thy power, which I have provoked, and of that
infinite duration of years which is with Thee. But then
my heart is closed, and is not softened thereby unto re-
pentance ; but here it is opened to tears at the greatness
of Thy love, which is more surpassing than the greatness
of Thy power.

Here may I be planted in the likeness of Thy death, so
that I may ever bear about with me Thy dying. Where
else should the heart of a sinner dwell, but here with
Thee? For if I go forth from Thee, where shall I go,
where all things do not testify against me ? and while the
testimony of their warnings is still in my ears, they will
but tempt me again to crucify Thee afresh ; for as many
things as I behold without, so many temptations are there
to forget Thee and Thy wounds. Whether it be the sound
of joy or of sorrow, whether of love or of hate, they find
in my bosom too many that are ready to join them against
Thee ; and my passions, and the evil thoughts of my heart,
are but like that crowd that cried aloud to crucify Thee.

But if that is my death when I go hence, so this also is
my life while I continue here : for this is the life unto
which I am bound by a twofold cord, by a double dedica-
tion, for it was into this grave that I was let down at
Baptism ; and that font, into which I was merged, was no
other than this rock, wherein I was devoted to be in this
world ever buried with Thee. And that which is our Life
in the holy Eucharist is but Thy death, and this Thy Body
which was given in death for me. This world, therefore,
into which I am born at Baptism, is no other than this
cave, wherein lieth Thy dead Body ; and the stone that
is set at the mouth of this cave, is in order that it might
shut out the world from my heart, that I may be content
to be here with Thee. And had I remembered this truth,

THE SEPULTURE

then should I have avoided those things that pierced Thy
tender heart more deeply than the spear; and planted
thorns on Thy bleeding brow worse than those which made
Thy face to drop with gore ; and transfixed Thy hands to
the Cross more keenly than these nails. Were not my
heart more cold and dead than this of Thine is now in
death, these pangs of remorse would wound me also with
piercing agonies; but I grieve because I have lost the
power to grieve ; if I feel aught, it is this, that I do not
feeL It is my unconcernedness that fills me with concern :
it is my want of fear that causes me to tremble before
Thee ; for so great is the abundance of Thy mercy, that
nothing shall set me afar from Thee but this feeling, that
I need Thee not. For that Centurion was received by
Thee, and set high in Thy kingdom, because he deemed
himself unworthy to approach Thee, or that Thou shouldest
come under his roof; and that woman of Canaan had from
Thee the richness of Thy table, and a portion almost more
than that of Thy children, because she knew herself to be
but meet to gather the crumbs under Thy table, as the
dogs. And could I know and feel that which I speak,
and would fain know and feel, then I am assured that
I also should not be cast out from Thee.

"Would that I had ever been closed about with these
bars, — it is here alone that the sinner can learn true
wisdom, and not in books. Those many disputations, and
controversial stirrings that abound, are indeed jarring to
my soul ; but here I will have no ears to hear them, and
with that rock will I close them out from me, that I may
hear them no more : for other thoughts indeed become
him, who would here wish to dwell with Thee in silence,
and repentance, and tears. Nay, even those over-anxious
plans of seeming good, and thoughts that trouble us, from

THE SINNER BURIED WITH CHRIST 429

the abonndings of iniquity, shall here be stilled in the
stillness of Thy grave. Here is the place of my wisdom
and my peace. Where else shall I go 1 I dread the stir
of religion and the talk of religion, in which the love of
Thee and the fear of Thee is not. Overwhelmed with
doubt, and troubled at the uncertainty of varying opinions,
I tremble, and know not how I shall direct my cause
aright. But in this darkness I see light — in this calm
I find rest for my spirit — this alone would I wish to
study ; and here would I desire to live. In those move-
ments of those things that are without, I see not whether
it is the Holy Spirit of God that would lead me, or the
spirit of the world ; but that small and still voice, which
I hear in this tomb, is surely Thine ; as to Elijah was that
cave in the wilderness, so to me is this rocky cell in the
desert of this world, where I recognize Thy voice speaking
unto me.

It is in stillness and solitude, as of this Thy tomb, that
Thou ever visitest the heart of man ; while the world, with
its loud noise, would hurry us from Thee. Many are the
things that trouble me whenever I depart from Thee, —
from the thoughts of this Thy death, and quiet burial, and
the contemplations that are here with Thee ; and even
whatever of good thoughts are, by Thy Grace, planted in
my heart, yet even in the workings of these there ever
comes in an admixture of alloy with the world. For the
secret seed of Thy Word in the heart, when it puts itself
forth into the atmosphere of the world, soon degenerates
into the strange vine ; and the fruits are not known unto
Thee as Thine own : if any desire of good had been in me,
it hath soon been blended and alloyed with earthly
affection, and with the wish to behold with mine eyes
the fruit of my labours ; and thereby I lose that eye of

430 THE SEPULTURE

faith which looketh only unto Thee, and to Thy good
Angels, who are with Thee in the secret place of this tomb.

But if a sinner, and one who groweth old in sin, can do
any little good to himself or others, it is not by working
for those ends himself, so much as by obtaining them of
Thee, — of Thee who art the Fountain of all good. If the
material Church and inner shrine are formed from a re-
semblance to these the outer and inner chambers of Thy
tomb, that they may put on the similitude of this pre-
vailing intercession, much more may this Thy grave be-
come a Holy Church and shrine unto me ; for how else
can I approach Thy Father, but with Thy Body 1 or how
else can I approach to Thee, who livest for evermore ] It
is to this that I appeal from Thy Judgment-seat ; and I
know well, that from that Thy seat of Judgment, Thou
also wilt appeal to this Thy tomb : and therefore I would
conform myself unto Thy death, and be buried with Thee,
lest the stones of this Thy tomb should cry out against me
unto the seat of Thy Judgment. For when my sins take
hold upon me, and I tremble at the anticipation of that
Day, and am well-nigh desolate, from the Rock of Thy
tomb cometh forth the water of Thy Spirit ; and therefore
it is written, that the dry desert shall bear the flower, for
it is replenished with the water that flowed from Thy side.

This Thy chamber of death is as that " lodging-place of
wayfaring men in the wilderness 10," which the Prophet of
Thy sorrows longed for, " that he might go away from his
people," and " weep day and night " unto Thee for their
sins. For here it is we may learn the nature of sin ; and
here we may weigh the world, and see what it comes to ;
in the stillness of this scene we hear that noise and feverish
excitement of life, which we hear not when in the midst
i" Jer. ix. 2.

THE SINNER BURIED WITH CHRIST 431

of it ; when we stand aloof from the noise and turbulence
of the stream, then we perceive its sound and motion ;
that hurry and stir of earthly things, wherein that day
will overtake the world unawares. Here buried with
Thee, may we shut out its temptations. Here is Thy
sacred Body, stiff and cold ; this may teach us to die to
this world ; this may cool in us that flesh which hath
been too often inflamed by luxury or by passion ; here we
may learn shame for our uncharitable words, and thoughts,
and deeds, from the love which flowed from Thy bleeding
wounds ; here may we learn the nature of ambition from
Thy prostrate and dishonoured and lifeless Form. Here
may we learn godly fear ; for if the all-merciful Father
spared not Thee, His only Son, when Thou stoodest in the
place of sinners, how shall we escape if we forget Thee ]
and here may we learn godly love, for if God spared not
His own Son for our sakes, there is nothing He will with-
hold from us if we love Thee. And thus, as there was a
Divine charity in Thy dead Body to send forth the Water
and the Blood, still is there a Divine energy in Thy dead
Body to give me life.

Here wouldest Thou gather us under Thy sheltering
wings until the enemy hath gone by; here the true Israelite
is commanded to abide in stillness with the sacrifice
that is slain, and not to go forth from his house till the
morning ', lest he die with the Egyptians. This is that
closet into which Thou hast bid us enter and to close the
door, in order that in secret we may pray to Thee : this is
that rock unto which Thou hast invited us to flee until
the tyranny be overpast. Nay, Thou art Thyself that
Rock ; and the cleft of that Eock, into which Thon hast
bid us flee, and concealed us by Thy hand, is Thine own
> Exod. xii. 22.

432 THE SEPULTURE

bleeding side ; for Thou art Thyself " a place to hide me
in," — a place to hide me, where I may be hid from mine
own self, from mine own purposes, and wishes, and hopes,
which have so grievously led me astray ; where I may be
hid from the light of day which witnesseth against me,
and be concealed in the darkness of the grave with Thee.

O what place is dark enough for the sinner to hide
himself in ? what grave is deep enough for him to bury his
schemes of selfishness and pride, his thoughts of self-
indulgence and ease, his quarrels and disputes ? when all
these sins have brought Thee to this, and Thou art laid
cold and lifeless in the tomb ; that we may endure no
penalty here for our deserts, but Thou wilt also endure
the same with us and for us ; surpassing our misery by
Thy love, and our guilt by Thy holiness.

THE DEAD IN CHRIST

HERE, in the grave of Christ, our souls, being planted in
the likeness of His death, shall be planted in the likeness
of His Eesurrection also; and it is the same with our
bodies. His death is the life of our souls, and of our
bodies also by His quickening spirit. This His Body is
that seed of which He spake in the deep groanings of His
suffering soul, which, if it die, shall not abide alone, but
bring forth many seeds like unto Itself. For our vile
body, if we be buried with Him, shall be fashioned like
unto His glorious Body. Here, therefore, must we come,
not only that we may learn to live, but also that we may
learn to die, and to contemplate with comfort the death of
our friends ; for here may we be not only dead with Him,
but in Him also dead, in some sense, with the faithful

THE DEAD IK CHRIST 433

departed. It is here with Christ that we learn to reflect
on the death of our friends and on our own with peace
and consolation, and in the depth of this grave to learn
Christian hope.

Here the solemn calm of the great Sabbath hath already
begun. In the deep stillness which is here exchanged for
the anxieties and agonies, and the feverish passions and
excitement of the scene that has passed, we seem to par-
ticipate in the awful calm of death : and as in life we
mingle and blend our sympathies with the condition and
state of our friends, and borrow their feelings, so in this
calm we seem to partake of the stillness of those souls
which are released from the body in that place, "where
the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at
rest." And if this calm is so striking, contrasted with
that which is past, still greater is that feeling of stillness
in death when we contrast it with that which is to come,
the great Morning of the Resurrection ; deep is the sus-
pense that watches in that awful expectation ; here is that
night, of which our Lord spake, wherein no man can
work ; He hath done our work for us ; our righteousness
is no longer of works, but we may rest in Him.

Blessed therefore is this grave, because we therein ap-
proach to the dead in Christ; and because this is the home
where we ourselves shall have to dwell j for we, too, shall
soon have to make our bed in the dark, and the grave
shall close its doors about us ; and before then, it is the
home of our buried affections, the house of all living.
Here might one pourtray human Nature itself as sitting
at a tomb, for our life is a continual bereavement ; and as
soon as we begin to know affection, we begin to mourn the
loss of it. No one can have lived for any time in the
world, but his best treasures and his best affections must

Ff

434 THE SEPULTURE

be with the dead. And there is no reflecting person who
does not find that those parts of his life, in which he sinks
most deeply into himself and the knowledge of his con-
dition, is made up of those hours of stillness and solitude,
where he seems to sit at the grave of those who were once
like himself, full of the same thoughts, and feelings, and
affections. Stillness and solitude is of itself like a holy
sanctuary, wherein he seems to draw near to them ; it is
that in which they are ever found ; and to draw near to
them is to draw away from the world \ for, wherever it is
that the faithful departed are, we know that to be with
them is to be with Christ.

The grave of Christ, therefore, is the best place for our
abode, for this reason, that we there draw more near unto
our friends that are gone, and to the place where we
ourselves are fast hastening. However we may forget it
for a time, yea, even in the very act of forgetting it, the
fchought will be brought to our minds that it is the home
of us all. It is more our home, because it is more
durable, more abiding and stable, than that of our sojourn
in this world. It is more our home to be with them that
are there, than with those that are here, on account of the
greater permanence of our abode with them 2. However man
may forget it in the flow of spirits and health, yet God
hath so constituted bim that every sense is an avenue
to the heart, and calculated to convey to him the feeling
remembrance of death, — of the death of his friends, and
of his own drawing near to the same: the sound of
distant music or a plaintive note, a passing word, or the
momentary scent of a flower, or the sound of a bell, 01

Iw 9et fjf 6.p4(TKfiv rots Kdrw, rwv cV0a8e.
**ei yap alfl Kciffofiai. — Soph. Antig. 1. 74-6.

THE DEAD IN CHRIST 436

the retiring of the day, or the falling leaf of autumn, or
a picture thai has been set aside, or a lost letter that
comes to view, or a sentiment that occurs in a book ; —
all these will touch a chord, and fill his mind with the
fulness of these contemplations, of the stillness and quiet
of death. Calls are they, doubtless, from our merciful
Father, and the good Angels that He has planted around
us; — calls that would take us from the business of the
world, from the buying and the selling, and planting and
building, and marrying and giving in marriage, wherein
the children of this world will be overtaken by the great
morning of the Day of Judgment; — calls to the awful
silence of that state which is beyond the grave, to the
sepulchre of Christ. " The shadows of evening are
stretched out, and the day goeth away ;" " the day is far
spent," an<l Christ bids us to enter in and stay with Him.

This rocky tomb therefore we must make, in some
sense, our earthly tabernacle. It is this that sanctifies
here to us the thoughts of those whom we love that are
out of our sight, and prepares us ourselves to die. It is
here that we draw near to them with hope. It is the
consciousness of their sinful flesh, and of the infirmities
to which it is subject, that makes the death-bed of our
friends so painful, and breaks with heavy thoughts on
the stillness of that peace which surrounds them. But
there are no such thoughts in this grave, for perfectly sin«
less is this Flesh which in death cannot see corruption;
and this reflection sheds consolation both on the death-
beds and on the graves of our friends.

The Wise Man hath said, that " to go to the house of

mourning is better" than to go to that of mirth : " for

that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to

heart." This house of mourning is no other than the

rf 2

tffE SEPULTURE

grave of Christ ; for it is His grave that renders blessed
the house of mourning. So much is this contemplation
for our soul's health in the school of Divine Wisdom,
that in order to withdraw us from the stir and business of
this world, God has appointed the continual returns of
night, wherein we may be as in the midst of this grave,
in darkness, in stillness, and in solitude ; in order that
He may so recall, and admonish us, every night, of
the solitude and stillness and darkness of the grave.
For in that return of night wherein we are continually
thus laid, He has forced upon us, who are so unwilling to
learn, the daily contemplation of our latter end ; — of this,
the death of Christ, which sanctifies and blesses that end,
and of the necessity of our being conformed thereto.
For night is nothing else but the due and necessary
preparation for the morning : and that morning is the
great Morning of the Resurrection and the coming of
Christ. And so intimately is the consideration of this
great morning connected with the sleep of Christ in the
grave, that the early Christians used to keep the night of
our Lord's rising from the grave, in prayer and watching,
in expectation of His return, on that same night, to
Judgment. Let us throughout the night of this world
be buried thus with Christ, and watching for His return.

And if our nightly return of sleep thus resembles
death, and is calculated to remind us of death; and to
be sanctified and rendered solemn by that association;
our Lord also, in His unbounded charities, has taken
great pains to teach us, that death also is to be considered
but a sleep ; that it is to be in our minds associated with
sleep, and to be lightened and cheered by that association.
By so often emphatically calling death a sleep, He has
doubtless intended to alleviate and to strengthen our

THE DEAD IN CHRIST 437

minds by faith in Him, showing us thereby His desire
that we should look on death as but a sleep, in ourselves
and others. And this His own lying in the grave sets
before us in the strongest manner this truth exemplified
in Himself, which He had so often taught us in words.
For although this His death be indeed the real separation
of soul and body, yet when we contemplate Him thus
lying in the grave, we are disposed to look upon it as a
sleep, because He is so soon to awake from it : as in aU
other things, so in this, the example seen in Himself gives
a peculiar energy and efficacy to Hia own expressions,
such as "she is not dead, but sleepeth." And sleep itself,
which He has given us to be a constant image of death,
seems to bring us into a nearer fellowship with the things
unseen, and the state of dreams is like another spiritual
world, like an opening into a new and untried scene ; to
represent to us some faint image of our souls being
separated from the body, alive to a sense of joy and
pain while the body sleeps.

To be thinking of the dead purifies greatly and hallows
our affections, and habituates us to think of that which is
out of sight, rather than what we behold ; and whatever
withdraws us from the grossness of sense and sight is
good for us, and is like living in the world unseen ; it is
extending our view beyond the grave, into that stat*
where souls live ; and prevents our limiting that view to
the things of earth after death. Again, the rapidity with
which time seems to pass in sleep, may serve to indicate
the shortness of that time which will exist before the
reunion of our soul and body. For our Lord in speaking
of that reunion, seems to hesitate whether He shall speak
of it as a future thing, or as one already present and at
hand : when He says, " the hour cometh," He pauses, as

438 THE SEPULTURE

it were to alter the expression, and adds, " <*nd ww i§,
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God."
For a thousand years were to Him but one day. The
daughter of Jairus hut just dead, Lazarus in the grave
four days, the Saints that arose at our Lord's Resurrection,
all indicate, that out of that sleep we all soon awake,
after being therein various intervals of time.

Our bodies are, indeed, utterly corrupted, and gone, and
forgotten, yet not so in the Eye of God: and full of
beautiful interest are those instinctive feelings whereby
men have been always endeavouring, by sepulchral rites,
by embalmings, and the like, to express this strong sense
implanted in us, of incorruption even in corruption, of im-
mortality in the very moment of mortality, of reunion even
in dissolution.

But the dead Body of Christ is left here lifeless and
untenanted, not only that His dead Body may sanctify
death, but that His spotless Soul may sanctify the place
of the dead. One Sacrificial animal, the sin offering, is
dead in our hands : but the other is escaped and gone into
the wilderness, bearing sin8. If the earth is hallowed
and preserved from corruption, because the sinless Son of
Man hath once made it His abode, and the flesh His
tabernacle : no less must the place of the departed have
derived some great blessing from the sojourn of His
righteous Soul among them. He has not only made this
world once the place of TTia abode, but has continued ever
since to vouchsafe Hia presence to it in some high and
peculiar manner, so that it is not as it was before. Thus
also is it with the place of His saints, that depart hence
in the Lord : for since that time, " from henceforth, —
blessed are the dead," for the good to die is to be with
8 Levit. xvi. 22.

THE DEAD IN CHRIST 43&

Christ, " which is far better," and to " sleep in the Lord."
It \vas of this that the prophet Isaiah 4 spake, " to bring
out the prisoners from the prison, and them that ait in
darkness out of the prison-house." This their darkness
He has converted into His own marvellous light Of this
also spake the prophet Zechariah*, "By the blood of Thy
covenant I have sent forth Thy prisoners out of the pit
wherein is no water. Turn yon to the stronghold, ye
prisoners of hope."

Well may we believe that place to be blessed, where the
Soul of Christ hath been. The great Italian poet, when
the scene of his poem is in the abode of the wicked, is
cautious lest the Ever-blessed Name should ever there
escape, or be uttered in those regions of despair : whereby
he meant to imply that that awful Name would burst
asunder the everlasting bars of that prison-house. How
much more may we suppose that — not the name uttered
by the lips, but — the ever adorable Son of God, the Soul
of Christ Himself, must have been of mighty avail for
good in the place of the faithful departed !

Nay, indeed, even nature itself instinctively would sug-
gest to us this lesson of hope : for what reader has not
been struck with wonder at Homer's description of the
place of the dead; so expressive of demerit and the
expectation of righteous judgment in man, yet not with-
out a secret hope in God ? That first and greatest of poets
describes the souls of the dead as wrapt in mysterious
gloom, and uowerless and silent, until they have partaken
of the blood of the sacrifice. Such is tne voice of nature,
if it be not something greater than nature ; or the glim-
mering light of primeval tradition, that spoke of the Great
Sacrifice in the midst of that spiritual darkness, to them
4 Isa. xlii. 7. fi Zech. ix. 11, 12.

440 THE SEPULTURE

who wandered beneath the di™ twilight of the shadow of
death.

Blessed, therefore, but very awful, to the good, is the
thought of that intermediate state between death and
Resurrection : it is in some especial manner to be with
Christ : there is something in the thought very full of awe,
and trembling joy : it is also to be with Abraham and all
the dead who are with Christ, as they are selected and
gathered out of this evil world. The more we think of it,
and of those who have preceded us there, the more do we
seem to approach them, for the dwelling-place and move-
ment of our minds depends not on bodily change of place,
but on the thoughts ; we are there, where our thoughts
are. How aspiring, how exalting, how calming, how
quickening, how hallowing is the contemplation, that
before the rising of another sun, we may bo in that
country of the faithful departed, — if found worthy to be
there!

Other Catholic Churches, amidst their many corrup-
tions, have inherited, not more sober, yet perhaps in some
respects deeper and livelier thoughts of the dead than our-
selves. We find the following striking prayer on the
departure of a soul, in the Breviaries : —

"I commend thee to Almighty God, dearest brother,
and to Him, whose creature thou art, I commit thee : that
when thou hast paid the debt of humanity, thou mayest
return unto Him who hath formed thee of the dust of the
ground. As thy soul goeth forth from the body, may the
bright company of Angels meet thee ; may the judging
senate of Apostles succour thee; may the triumphant
army of white-robed Martyrs welcome thee ; may the band
of glowing Confessors, crowned with lilies, surround thee ;
may the choir of Virgins receive thee, singing jubilees ;

THE DEAD IN CHRIST 441

may the embrace of Patriarchs bind thee in their bosom of
blessed repose ; mild and joyous may the aspect of Jesus
Christ appear to thee, and award thee a place for ever
among them who wait upon Him. Mayest thou never
know what is terrifying in darkness, or sounding dismally
in the flames, or in torments excruciating. Let foulest
Satan with his attendants retire from thee: may he
tremble at thy coming among Angels that attend thee, and
for ever flee away into the vast deep of everlasting night.
Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered : let them
also that hate Him flee before Him. Like as the smoke
vanisheth, so shalt Thou drive them away : and like as
wax melteth at the fire, so let the ungodly perish at the
presence of God : but let the righteous be merry and joy-
ful before Him. Let all the legions of hell be confounded
and put to shame : and let not the ministers of Satan dare
to impede thy journey. May Christ who was crucified for
thee, deliver thee from all torment. May Christ deliver
thee from eternal death, who deigned to die for thee. May
Christ the Son of the living God place thee for ever within
the green and pleasant places of His own Paradise ; and
may the True Shepherd recognize thee among His sheep.
May He absolve thee from all thy sins ; and set thee on
His right hand in the inheritance of His elect. Mayest
thou behold thy Eedeemer face to face : and for ever
standing in His Presence, mayest thou behold with
blessed eyes the very Truth. Set among the companies
of the blessed, mayest thou enjoy the sweetness of Divine
contemplation for ever and ever. Amen."

442 THE SEPULTURE

HYMN ON FUNERAL EITES OF THE DEAD

As our object throughout has been rather to set forth the
thoughts of others than our own, and to revive the re-
flections of better times, we cannot perhaps better conclude,
than by attempting to translate that very beautiful Hymn
of " great and grave Prudentius," the poet of Martyrs.

O GOD, the fiery Fount whence souls descend,

Who dost the twofold element combine,
Living and dying dost together blend,

And mould in one, — the human form Divine.

Thine are they both, our Father Thou and Guide,
The wondrous chain is form'd by Thee alone ;

Bound at Thy will together they abide,
And flesh and spirit serve Thee, two in one.

But when asunder rent they part in twain,
Then man is all dissolved, and seen no more ;

Dry Earth the mouldering clay receives again ;
Air bears the soul unto the viewless shore.

Thus all that is created must decay,

And yield to wasting change and withering eld ;
Things closest knit must vanish all away,

Break the live bonds which erst the texture held.

This is that death, which Thou our gracious God
Hast come to vanquish, from the pitying skies,

Forming a road, which Thou Thyself hast trod,
Whereby the perish'd limbs again may rise.

ON FUNERAL RITES OF THE DEAD 443

What though immortal seeds are bound with frail,
Closed in its prison-house and chains of earth —

The mightier part within us shall prevail,
And vindicate its own ethereal birth.

If the free Will embracing low desire

Wallow in grovelling thought and things below,

The soul shall sink, weigh'd by the earthly mire,
And its immortal birthright shall forego.

But if the soul, true to her fiery birth,

Refuse the foul contagion of the clay,
The Heav'n-born guest shall wing the laggard earth.

And to the stars the associate frame convey.

What though we see the body sink to sleep,

Resign the passionate mind, and void remain, —

A little while shall break its slumbers deep,
And the assembling senses meet again.

The ages soon shall come, when friendly heat
Shall these dry wither'd bones again resume,

The life-blood seek again its ancient seat,
And animate again with glowing bloom.

The buried carcases which lifeless lay

In mouldering sepulchres and charnels cold,

Soon on the gales of Heav'n shall wing their way,
Companions to the souls they held of old.

Hence on the dead we tend with holy pains,
And when we would in vain the life recall,

Cherish with honours sad the dear remains,
And duly deck the solemn funeral.

Bound in the whiteness of the winding-sheet,
As in its swaddling bands we lay the dead, —

Myrrh, with Sabean odours blending sweet,
Hold the cold sleeper of the silent bed.

444 THE SEPULTURE

For what do mean our beauteous monuments,
And carved stones, which seem their watch to keep

Over the dead,— but that in those still tents
The inmate is not perish'd, but asleep ?

Such the providing care that Love shall take,
Which dwells in Christ, believing, at His breath,

All things shall in an instant be awake,

Which now are held in the cold arms of death.

When bodies of the dead unburied lie,
He who takes pity on their poor remains,

To Christ who died he shows that charity,
And Christ that liveth shall reward his pains

Love, while for others, for itself it sighs ;

For 'neath one melancholy lot we groan,
We recognize our kindred obsequies,

And in another's death grieve for our own.

That aged saint and venerable lord,

Sire of Tobias, whom the Angel led,
Instant arose from the untasted board,

And first would tend on the unburied dead.

When ministers attendant stood around,
The cups untouch'd and viands did he leave ;

Instant he rose, on duteous service bound,
To dig the grave, and then return'd to grieve.

Vast his reward ; — HeaVn shall the deed repay,
And healing Raphael upon earth is seen ;

His eyes, which long had lost the visual ray,
Touch'd with the gall behold the light serene.

E'en then our Father hath His children taught,
How bitter is the cure to the dark soul ;

How keen the remedy to wakening thought,

When the light breaks, and spirits are made whole.

ON FUNERAL RITES OF THE DEAD 446

He taught us thus that he who, Heavenward bound,

Would see hereafter His celestial reign,
Mast pass through night, and bear the grievous wound,

Train'd by the sufferings of this world of pain.

Death is more blessed for these short-lived woes;

Through dissolution's pangs and fleshly jars,
Arduous the way that opens to repose,

And pain doth pave the pathway to the stars.

But bodies that have learn'd daily to die,

Here shall again return in happier years ;
And that reunion in the blissful sky,

Shall never know decay nor parting tears.

The face now tinged with that pale livid hue,
Bred of disease and hastening to the tomb,

More beauteous than each flower, shall wake anew,
Mantling with blood of never-dying bloom.

Envious Old Age shall then no longer prey
Upon the altered brow which once was fair ;

Nor Leanness, with its gradual dry decay,
Shrivel the arms, and leave the forehead bare.

And fell Disease, who with relentless pains
Lays waste the limbs, and taints the panting breath.

Then shall be bound amid a thousand chains,
Torturing himself in never-dying death.

The Flesh triumphant from the realms of day,

Exulting in new life's perennial flow,
Shall see his foe for ever pine away,

Himself the prey of self-inflicted woe.

And ye, surviving friends that throng the tomb,
Why mingle here those sounds of idle wail ?

Why, with loud tears and desolating gloom,
Blame ye God's righteous laws that must prevail?

446 THE SEPULTURE

Be still, thou sad lament ; and ye that mourn,
Suspend your tears ; ye mothers, weep no more j

Mourn not those pledges from your bosom torn,
Death hath a new and better life in store.

E'en as the seeds beneath their parent earth,
All dead and buried for a while remain j

Then greenly rise unto a second birth,
And meditate again the golden grain.

Receive him, Earth, unto thine harbouring shrine,
In thy soft tranquil bosom let him rest ;

These limbs of man I to thy care consign,
And trust the noble fragments to thy breast.

This house was once the mansion of a soui,
Brought into life by its Creator's breath :

Wisdom did once this living mass control,
And Christ was there enshrined, Who conquers death,

Cover this body, to thy care oonsign'd ;

Its Maker shall not leave it in the grave ;
But His own lineaments shall bear in mind,

And shall recall the image which He gave.

The full-appointed times e'en now are come,
When God Himself shall every hope fulfil ;

Thou must give up from thy sepulchral womb
The shape I yield unto thee, and am still.

For what, though Time consumes unto a span,
Wastes e'en these bones which unto thee I trait,

Till what remains of that which once was man,
Is but a little handful of dry dust :

And what though wandering blasts and moaning gales
Shall bear that dust throughout the empty air ;

It shall not be that God's own promise fails, —
It shall not be that man hath perish'd there.

ON FUNERAL RITES OF THE DEAD 44*1

But while Thou dost recall, and thus remould

The perishable body, Father blest,
In what pure region of Thy heavenly fold

Wilt Thou the unshackled spirit bid to rest P

Shall it, like Lazarus, reposing lie

On the blest bosom of that ancient Sire,
Where afar off, enclosed 'mid flowers on high,

The Rich man saw him from his bed of fire P

0 Saviour, we would follow Thy commands,

Who, conquering death, hast won a passage free,

Where on Thy steps, through Eden's blissful landg,
The associate of Thy Cross doth follow Thee.

Lo, to Thy faithful opes the ample glade

And shining path of Thine own paradise ;
And we may enter in that verdant shade

Wherein no more the deadly serpent lies.

Lead, gracious Guardian, as Thou knowest beat,
Guide a poor soul, Thy servant, to Thy fold j

Conduct her in that natal seat to rest,
Which she, an exiled wanderer, left of old.

We on the dear remains and cover' d bones

Will drop the violet and vernal leaf;
And on the title cold and silent stones

Shed liquid sweets, — and seek in Thee reliet

INDEX OF TEXTS

GENESIS.

CHAP.

xlix

VRR.
8

rA'iX

94

CHAP.

VKR.

PAGE

xlix

29

. 180

i

5 ..

257

i

2

392

i

26 .

... 398

ii

7

. 138

ii

9 ,

284

EXODUS

ii

21...

378

iii

1—8 .

3

iv

4 ..

,.. 287

iii

5

241

x

22...

,. 342

iii

8 . . . .

.. 345

x

23

.. 343

iii

9

192

xii

2

257

iii

16 . .

107

xii

3

... 268

iii

21

... 299

xii

6

... 268

iii

24

322

xii

22 .

355. 431

jv

8

270

xii

29

35

iv

9 ..

. 172. 192

xii

46

380

iv

13, 14 ...

172

xiii

19.

.. 392

vi

16

378

xiv

13, 14

... 141

vii

23

286. 365

xiv

21 29

286. 364

XV

386

xiv

28 ,

235

XV

12. 17 ...

... 345

XV

25 .

286

xix

1.27

. 36

xvii

6.11

286

xxii

6

270

XX

11

397

xxii

9

94

XXV

10

.... 286

zxii

15

164

5 6 39 42

... 389

xxiii

3—20 ...

392

xxviii

36

296

xxiii

4.

180

xxxiii

22 23 ..

337. 394

XXX

22....

107

xxx vii

3 ..,

301

xxx vii

7

270

LEVITICUS

xxxvii

28

. 94 385

XXX'X

13

299

1

153

xli

32

28 164

xiv

4

355

xli

39 43

205

xvi

22

438

xlv

5 ..,

.. 136

xxvi

34

184

450

INDEX OF TEXTS

CHAP.

ix
xvii
xxi

r

ii
xvii
xix
xxi
xxi

XXV

xxvi
xxviii
xxxii

tin

xvi
xvi
xvi

i
vi
viii
xiv
xv

XV
XV

xvi:

NUMBERS.

VER. P
12

AGE

380
364
270

'7*
2t>0
385
262
374
155
421
260
356

365

271
94
235

420
253
259
214
212
227
149
235

392
1
89
392

CHAP.

iv
viii
xi
xiii
xix

i
iv
vi
vi
xiii

vii

ii
iii
xix
xxi
xxiii
xxiii
xxiv
xxxvii

PSALM

i
i
ii
ii
ii
ii
iv
iv
vii
ix
ix

X
X

xvi

1 KINGS.

VER.

33

PAGE

.. 354

8 283

31,32
30

153
..149. 302

9

DEUTERONOMY.
30

22

.. 392

12

429

2 KINGS.
10. 12 ...

82

15,16
15

g 9

29

365

OQ

6

270

g

17

62

4 5 10

21

. 394. 425

47, 48

ESTHER,

10

166

32,33 313.

JOSHUA.
18

JOB.

6

176

JUDGES.
3 ...

17

433

26 27

146

20

12

21

8 10

168

30

15

135

1 SAMUEL.
24....

13. 17

77

12

135

PSALMS.
1

384

2

7-5

45

3

283

20. 24 ...

2

98 234

22

6 8

294

27,28 ....

8

189

51

ooq

ii

XV
XX

xxi

2 SAMUEL.
5

4

426

6

156

16 17

... 167

15

167

19 20

87

23....

2

167

25....

12

158

10. 12—14 ...

6 ...

... 307

INDEX OF TEXTS

451

PSALM VBR.

xvi 11

PAGE

358

PSALM VRR. PAGB

IxxxviiiS 84

xviii 43—45

239

Ixxxviii4

3.58
80
130
70
135
158
167
95
146
335
98
95
156
309
314
137
96
143
297
358
14
275
321
45
275
134
20
261
281
168
135

26
247
21
319

203

43.o
422

417

390

XLX 2

240

IxxxviiiB

xix 5

.. 396

xc 5

xxii 8. 11 19

314

xci 11

xxii 7

309

xci 12,13

xxii 12

2

xxii 15

223

xxii 17

.. 381

cii 23

xxii 21

22.292

civ 3

xxii 27

229

CT 18 94.

xxvii 2, 3

53

cix 2

xxx 7

156

cix 15.22,23

txxi 15

217

cix 23

xxxii 8

. 99

cix 24

xxxiii 6

391

cix 25 27

xxxiv 7

61

cix 26

xxxiv 20

380

cix 30

xxxv 8

167

ex .

xxx vii 10

.. 151

ex 1 96.145.238.

\x\viii 4 7

224

ex 7

x\ xviii j 2—15 ...

141

cxvi 3

xxxviii 13, 14

244
140 203

cxix 75

cxix 176

xl 10

19 314

cxxx 4

xli 9

46 48

cxxxii 15 ...

xliv 3 ...

.. 116

xlv 2

203

xlv 7

231 364

cxl 9

xlv 8

390

cxli 89

xlv 17

274

cxli 11 . ...

xlri 10

. 61. 124

12

294

PROVERBS.

CHAP.

vi 4 6

1 3

244

1 10

135

11 4 ...

, . 206

U7

155

lv 4,5

14

viii 16

IT 13

lv 1/i

39
40

xxviii 13

lv 21, 22 ...

. 48

ECCLESIASTES.

m7

Ix 7 .

... 294

Lev 7

... 310

Ixviii 18

312

Ixviii 33.34
Ixix 2. 15—18.

147
338

vii 2

Ixix 14, 15
Ixix 21

314
80 314

x 1

SONG OF SOLOMON,
ii 14

l\ix 22

285 355

Ixxi 9 .

. 98

Ixxii 11

229

Ixxviii 2 ...

.. 203

iv 12. 14 16 ...

Qg2

452

INDEX OF TEXTS

CHAP.

vi

Tiii

i

i
i
i
ii
iii

T

ix
xxii
xxvi
xx vi
xxxiii

XXXV

xxxvii
xxxviii
xlii
xlii
xliii
xliv
xlv
xlv

1
1

1

li
li
Iii
Iii
liii
liii

liii
liii
IT
Iri
Ixiii
Ixiii

ii

ii

•

VBR.

3

PAGE

... 321

CHAP.

ii
ii
iv

V

vi
vii
viii
ix
ix
xii
xiii
xiii
xiv

XV
XXV

xxx i
xxxii
xxxii

xlii

L.

i
i
i
iii
iv

xi

xxxii
xxxiii
xxxiii
xxxvii

ii

iii

V

vi

iv
xiii

VBR.

12 13

PAOB
260

13

4

2l!

.... 356

ISAIAH.

14....

.. 183

14....

184

21

.... 118

4

... 436

4

.. 134

18 21

... 16

16....

, . 267

1

16

18 174.
21

192. 226
. 416

2 ..

... 430

7 8

217

19

277
.. 168

... 389

11

23

174

2 ...

355

89 .. .

.. . 87

6

... 270

9

342

22

271

15

. 12

19 20

. 394

15 16

385

20

419

2

.... 94

»7

... 425

14 15

180

1

.. 430

5

. . 196

29

134

^MENTATIONS
1 6

416

5

292

2

243

7

439

9

265

20

197

12

417

18, 19

127

14

95

23....

229

7

95

2,3....

144

1Q Oft

95

5,6

144

EZEKIEL.
21

.. 168

6..

128. 156
265

8. 9

3

430

17

... 12

15

loo
263. 295
324

ft"

342

2

19

114.

7 140.

156.245
139. 387
185. 280
135

2

425

9
12 . 75.

DANIEL.
45....

.. 138

9

6 7

180

222.228

et 999

JEREMIAH.
5

.. 132

25
5

291
.35. 293
291

22

HO8EA.

17 18

356

12

157

Sentuacrint versio

u.

ll'...

... 259

JNDEX OF TEXTS

453

AMOS.

CHAP.

iii

VKR.

10

PAGK

365

CHAP.

VER. P

AGR

iv

11. . .

. 22

iii

6

137

4

228 381

iii

8

217

5

72 228

via

9

342

9

11

131

12

228

14. 16 . ...

77

JONAH.

18

.. 143

ii

1

291

39
44 45

129
988

111

4

VI

vi

48
6

227
.. 431

MICAH

vi

7

. SO

VI

21

, 418

§

2 ...

294

23

77. 174

vi

3

132

28 '2(>

204

vii

1.2 .

348

15

49

vii

26.. .

71

viii

8

...:::::: 428

HABAKKUK.

viii

12

. 77

il

20

61

viii

20

394

iz
iz

13
16

... 227

.... 148

7VC WART ATT

x

°9 30

.... 298

xi

%:. .

. 29. 156

ix

9

259

xii

19,20

243

11 12

439

xii

31

.. 174

12 13

179

xii

39.

310

10*

267

32 ...

.. 283

xii

10. 12

381

xiv

2

... 201

xiii

6

426

xiv

25

... 871

xiii

7 . .

80

xiv

27

. 67

TV

78

342

xiv

28 31 .

.. 338

xiv

30

71

xiv

31...

.. 117

WISDOM.

XT

27

... 428

1C OO

236

xvi

16

108

ii

21,22

311

ee

xvi
xvi

16. 18 ...

17

71
Ill

Zll

xii

18,19
oo

87
109

xvi
xvi

19
23

803
59.61

xvn

4
10

6
351

xviii

27

365

ECCLESIASTICUS.

XX

13....

46

• >•' t

XX

19

218

XXV

Ill I/. i&U, -I

fit

22

13

15

420

xxi

38

... 290

SI. MAllHfciW.

12

.. 46.278

ji

2 191

253

vxiii

12

29

ii

11 .. ... G9.

390

xxiii

14

133

454

INDEX OF TEXTS

CHAP.

xxiil

VKR.

24

PAGE

.. 177

ST. LUKE.

xxiii

27

182

CHAP.

VKR.

PAGE

xxiv

13....

403

i

11

... 22

xxiv

30 ...

. ... 381

i

18. 63 ...

297

xxiv

31

305

i

42

328 335

xviv

51

73

ii

4

191

XXV

5

. 34

ii

13....

36.371

XXV

10

366

ii

19

.. 335

XXV

31

. .. 62. 70

ii

25

383

XXV

40

326

ii

34,35

323 324

xxvi

3

97 161

ii

35

... 334

xxvi

13....

... 393

a

42-49

336

xxvi

31

79

ii

49

333

xxvi

32

400

ii

51...

... 333

xxvi

33

72

iii

2 ...

. 89

xxvi

34

119

iii

6

146

xxvi

55

195

iii

8 ...

183

xxvii

19

107

iv

9 ...

311

xxvii

25

167

iv

30

43

xxviii

20

26

vi

36

45

vii

37

... 409

vii
vii

39. 47
48.50

413. 421
... 414

ST. MARK.

viii

2

408

ix

23

279

i

12....

10

ix

29

204

i

20

332

ix

55

59

i

24

132

ix

58

278

iii

35

... 332

x

19

230

iv

38

424

35

365

v

39....

437

42

404 413

vi

20

201

xi

7

240

vii

11

. 133. 177

xi

22

235

viii

18 ,

50

xi

26

174

viii

34....

. 272, 273

28

333

ix

3

226. 306

xii

8

. .. 319

ix

6

28

xii

10

... 290

x

14. 16

420

xii

44

366

x

30

332

xiii

1

201

x

32

52

xiii

32

201

x

38

. 221 226

xiv

11

319

xiii

35 ..

... 120

xiv

26

334

xiv

2

166

5

365

xiv

9

414

10

426

xiv

30....

119. 278

xvi

8

240

xiv

37

121

xvi

19 21

. 176

xiv

51

... 68 80

xvi

21 ....

.. 366

XV

92

xvi

31

... 311

XV

39

290

28

. 435

XV

41

107

xviii

57

240

47

107

13 ...

366

xvi

9 ...

.. 107

xix

22....

,.. 248

INDEX OF T£.\'TX

455

tHAP.

xix

VKK.

42

PAGK

174

CHAP.

x

VRR.

18

PAGE

... 137. 358

Jtix

43 44

276

x

24....

246

XX

2U-26

.. 187

x

39...

43

XX

41

142. 151

xi

2 .

411

xxi

17 . .

131

xi

20. 29 31

401)

xxii

19....

427

xi

32, 33 ....

407

xxii

32

.. 116

xi

42

193

xxii

34

119

xi

50

125 230

xxii

53

77. 247

xi

51

148

4 14

218 238

xii

6

175

xxiii

5 ....

.. 400

xii

393

xxiii

6

. 238

xii

24....

432

xxiii

15 22 ...

218

xii

28 . .

52

xxiii

27

.. 107

xii

32, 33 ....

186

xxiii

30

..... 55

xiii

55

xxiii

34

.. 152

xiii

3, 4 ...

67

xxiii

40

69

xiii

7

838

43

360

xiii

37, 38 . .

118

45

150

xiv

2 . ...

10

xxiv

17

192

xiv

18. 23. 26

334

xxiv

29

.... 435

xiv

30

7. U2

XV

19

195

XV

27....

]96

8T JOHN

xvi

2,3

290

xvi

32

80 83 349

i

9 77.

117. 343

xvii

12

56

j

29

305

xix

12....

69. 167

i

46

295

xix

41...

3

y

4

333 339

XX

1

36 107

ii

14 15

. 55

XX

15—17....

407

ii

19

.. 136

XX

29

iii

1

.. 385

2

420

v

17

.. 398

ACTS

OF THE

APOSTLFS

v

25.28

145. 371

vi

70

175

i

18....

... 172. 178

vii

8 30 44

75

iii

14....

213

30

43

iii

17

290

vii

39 79

112 175

iv

6 ...

89

vii

41

... 401

iv

26. 28 ...

132

46

68

vi

13..

133

vii

50

385

vii

57....

.... 186

viii

1

40

vii

60

289

viii

3

186

x

11

389

19

290

x

37

400

viii

20 59

.. .. 43

xii

4

... 165.204

22

358

xii

21 23....

258.262

viii

31

212

xvii

23

viii

44

"14

xxi

28....

133

3

176

xxii

24 .

218

4

197 349

xxiv

13

.. 131

z

U...

. 55

xxiv

25

... 176.201

456

INDEX OF TEXTS

CHAP.
XXV

xxvii
iii

V

vi
vi
viii

Tiii

viii

X
X

xi
xi
xiii
xiii

1

i
ii
iv
vii

X

xi
xi
xii
xii
xiii

XV
XV
XV

2

ii
ii
iii
v
xi
xii
xii

iii

VER. P
11

AGE

131
23

206
281
427
432
147
94
230
321
283
118
294
248
77

107
290
98
9
422
297
121
112
306
321
281
123
138

172
153

159
138
49
176
328

12

CHAP.

iii
vi

ii
iii
iv

V

vi

i
ii
ii
ii
ii
iii

i

ii

iii
iv

v

2

ii
ii
ii

i
vi

ii

VER. PAOB

28 360

21.23, 24

17.. .. 326

ROMANS.

A

EPHESIANS.
12.... .. 181

20

18,19 425
46 306

3. 5
5

8.11 77
16 17 230

17
21

PHILIPPIANS.

12 . 94

37

10

21

17

23 439

6fifi 7*i

1

1ft 22Q

12

U14O 904

CORINTHIANS.
27

12 302

10 415. 430

COLOSSIANS.

20.... ... 283

8

11 ..

20

24 98

4

10 281

3 281

14 306

31

18 93

3

THESSALONIANS.

19 174

4

13

22

04.

47

THESSALONIANS.

4 . 49

CORINTHIANS.
11...

10 50

U1O 174

16

1 TIMOTHY.
13 . 290. 292

18

1

14

9 ""!!!"'.!!!!!!1!'"27

13 196

GALATIANS.

13....

2 TIMOTHY.
9 .. . 94

INDEX OJ' TEXTS

457

CHAP,
ii

VRR.

11 12

PAOB

275

CHAP.

iii

VKR. f

4

AOB

4?3

Ji

12

272 320

j Y

8 ....

319

iii

12

209

y

5 ...

30

iv

HEBREWS.
9

397, 398

1 ST. JOHN.

|T

12

327

i

5 ...

77

7

15 22

ii

8

2.57

g

21

iii

2

146

n

4 6

51 174

Y

6.8,9...

377

vj,

17 24.

149

7

16

174

Till

5

369

ix

19

264

ix

24

368

REVELATION

x

19,20 ...

,.. 568

x

26

. ... 292

{

5

1%

x

26 27

124

j

7 146 310

381

xii

147 346

jy

6

6(1

xii

2 ...

130. 220

YJ

15

°76

xii

6

228

YJ

16 55.

?76

\ii

17....

174

14

9?6

xiii

13

272

13

438

XV

6

38Q

xix

8

389

ST. JAMES.

xix

13

??•?

U

6

.. .. 107

xxi

1

257

XXI

xxi

2, 3
23

195

fl7

1 ^T PKTFR

xxii

2

?84

11

174

1

23....

,. 230

xxii

20

257

THE BND.

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at the Edinburgh University Press